The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monday told the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition sTribunal sitting in Abuja that the Nigerian Army lied when it claimed that there was no election in the state.
The commission stated that the army authorities, in a bid to discredit the outcome of the April 11 governorship election it conducted in the state, sent soldiers that gave false evidence before the Justice Ambrosa Suleiman-led panel.
The soldiers had in their separate testimonies before the tribunal, insisted that the governorship poll in Rivers State was marred by widespread violence.
However, at the resumed hearing on the petition that was lodged by the All Progressives Congress (APC), and its governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, INEC produced eight witnesses that contradicted the evidence by the Nigerian Army.
The INEC witnesses who were all Presiding Officers that conducted the election, took turns and told the tribunal that the election was peaceful, successful and devoid of any form of violence.
While tendering in evidence result sheets from the different areas they manned, the witnesses, told the court that they resorted to the use of manual accreditation of voters after the Card Reader Machines failed.
The witnesses equally tendered the incidence forms that were filled by the electorate when the card reader machines could not recognise their voters’ cards.
The INEC witnesses said they personally submitted the result sheets at the collation centres.
The PW-12, Onyije Ifeanyi, a former corps member, told the court that he was the presiding officer that was in charge of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.
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 there 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,” he added.
Ifeanyi testified that a total of 114 voters were accredited with the card reader machines, saying his unit recorded 39 cases of failed accreditation.
In his testimony, the PW-13, Tubonini Mcbala, who was the presiding officer at Unit 8, ward 1 at Degema LGA, while insisting that the election was peaceful, told the tribunal that the poll was monitored by agents of the APC.
While being cross-examined by counsel to the petitioners, Chief Akinolu Olujimi, SAN, the witness said: “My Lords, there was no incident of shooting or thugs carting away election materials. Any Army that came before his 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 police and civil defence and they were all without arms,” the witness added.
Sequel to an application by the APC, and its gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State, Peterside, the tribunal, subpoenaed the Chief of Army Staff to produce some of the soldiers that were deployed to the state during the election, appear and testify before the court.
The soldiers, in their separate testimonies, told the tribunal that the election was marred by violence and sporadic gun shots by thugs, a situation they said scared voters away.
Four of the Army officers who are all Captains, Garba Sani who was in charge of Tai Local Government Area, Abubakar Mohammed from Bony Camp Lagos, Fred Bala from Maiduguri and Captain Isa Almakura, told the tribunal that they led different troops that were deployed to Rivers State during the election.
They took turns and testified 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 Local Government Area.
Specifically, Capt. Almakura who covered Ikwerri local government 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 rescue 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, were mercilessly beaten by the thugs,” he added.
One of the commission’s witnesses, Mr. Ebikoru Tebekaemi, the electoral officer that superintended over the governorship election at Obiakpo Local Government Area in Rivers State had told the tribunal that, contrary to the evidence of APC’s witnesses, there was no incident of ballot snatching or multiple thump printing of ballot papers at Obiakpo.
Asked by counsel to the petitioners, Chief Akinolu Olujimi (SAN), if he was aware that there was a widespread rigging and hijacking of electoral materials by armed thugs, the witness said he was not aware that such incident occurred and insisted that election was duly conducted in 15 out of 17 wards in the local government areas.
Under cross examination by counsel to the petitioners, the witness, said he was not also aware that people were seen at a football pitch thumb printing ballot papers in favour of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The petitioners had closed their case after they called 58 witnesses who testified that the election was marred by violence and widespread irregularities.
APC and its governorship candidate, Peterside are challenging Wike’s election as Rivers State Governor in the April 11, 2015 governorship election conducted by INEC.
Further hearing of the petition continues today
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