The
Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday in Abuja informed the
Justice Ambrosa Suleiman-led Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions
Tribunal that the Nigerian Army lied when it submitted that there was no
election in Rivers State.
Some
top officials of the army had, in their separate testimonies before the
tribunal, insisted that the governorship poll in Rivers State was marred by
widespread violence and irregularities.
But
INEC told the tribunal that the army, in its efforts to discredit the outcome
of the April 11 governorship poll in Rivers State, sent soldiers that gave
false evidence before the panel.
At
the resumed hearing on the petition by the All Progressives Congress and its
governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, INEC produced eight witnesses
that contradicted the evidence by the Nigerian Army.
The
witnesses, who were all presiding officers who conducted the election, informed
the tribunal that the governorship election was peaceful and devoid of any form
of violence.
While
tendering result sheets from the various local government areas as evidence,
the witnesses told the tribunal that they resorted to the use of manual
accreditation of voters following the failure of card reader machines.
The
witnesses also tendered the incidence forms that were filled by voters when the
electronic devices could not recognise their voter cards.
According
to them, they personally submitted the result sheets at the collation centre.
The
PW 12, Onyije Ifeanyi, who is a former member of the National Youth Service
Corps, told the tribunal that he was the presiding officer that was in charge
of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.
He
said, “My Lords, I took the result to the collation centre myself where I had
to wait for my turn because there were other presiding officers that also came
to submit their own. It is not true that there was violence at the area I
covered. There was no incident of invasion by armed men or shootings. The
election was peacefully conducted and everything went successfully.”
According
to him, a total of 114 voters were accredited with the card reader machines,
adding that his unit recorded 39 cases of unsuccessful accreditations.
In
his testimony, the PW 13, Tubonini Mcbala, who was the presiding officer at
Unit 8, ward 1 at Degema LGA, insisted that the election was peaceful.
He
told the tribunal that the election was monitored by agents of the APC.
While
being cross-examined by the counsel for the petitioners, Chief Akinolu Olujimi
(SAN), the witness said, “My Lords, there was no incident of shooting or thugs
carting away election materials. Any soldier that comes before this tribunal to
testify that there was violence is telling lies.
“As
the presiding officer, I was there from the beginning of the election to the
end. There was no soldier at the polling unit the only security agents we saw
were the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and they were
all without arms.”
Sequel
to an application by the APC and Peterside, the tribunal subpoenaed the Chief
of Army Staff to produce some of the soldiers that were deployed to the state
during the election to appear and testify before it.
The
soldiers, in their separate testimonies, told the tribunal that the election
was marred by irregularities such as violence and gunshots by thugs, a
situation they said scared voters away.
The
four Army Captains who testified included Garba Sani, who was in charge of Tai
Local Government Area; Abubakar Mohammed from Bony Camp Lagos, Fred Bala from
Maiduguri and Isa Almakura.
They
had told the tribunal that they led different troops that were deployed to
Rivers State during the election.
They
took turns to testify that armed thugs attacked INEC officials at different
local government areas in the state and carted away election materials, adding
that no election took place at Tai LGA.
Specifically,
Almakura, who covered Ikwerri LGA, along with 30 other soldiers, told the
tribunal that at a time, his team got confused by the “bombardment of phone
calls” from INEC ad hoc staff who he said were shouting for help and begging to
be rescued from thugs that invaded their polling units.
On
our arrival at polling units in Osuala, Onuerelu, Omerelu and Alu, we found the
INEC ad hoc staff, mainly corps members, mercilessly beaten by the thugs,” he
added.
Further
hearing of the petition continues today (Tuesday).
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