Ekpenyong, PDP, INEC Kick As Police Area Commander Appears Before Tribunal … Witnesses Insist On No Cancellation Of Election In Essien Udim LGA
By UbongAbasi Ise
The national assembly tribunal sitting in Uyo was set on fire yesterday as Ikot Ekpene Area Police Commander, ACP Naziru Bello Kankorofi, who was subpoenaed by the tribunal, appeared with two Nigerian Police Situational Reports with the respondents objecting to his cross-examination.
Solomon Umoh, SAN, counsel to the 1st Respondent (the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP), while citing Section 219 of the Evidence Act raised objection to the cross-examination of the Police Area Commander arguing that the person summoned should only tender his documents and leave.
Buttressing the same point, Barr. Robert Emukpoeruo, counsel to the 3rd to 5th Respondents (the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC and 2 ors), maintained that Section 219 of the Electoral Act has two limbs, saying the first is the fact that a person summoned to produce a documents does not make him a witness, and secondly he is not qualified to testify as a witness.
Kanu Agabi, SAN, counsel to the 1st Respondent (Senator Chris Ekpeyong) aligned himself with the objection saying, the police area commander does not qualified to be PW11, declaring "We can't cross-examined him."
The petitioner's counsel, S.I. Ameh, SAN, noted that although the witness is not expected to appear, the reports he produce must bear the identity of the witness.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice W.O. Akanbi, ruled that the subpoena should tender his documents and leave. The reports from ACP Naziru Bello Kankorofi was received and marked by the tribunal as exhibit IG1 and IG2.
Another subpoenaed witness was the Divisional Police Officer for Essien Udim local government area, Supt. Samuel Isiek. He tendered the election situational reports to the tribunal and left without being cross-examined.
Two witnesses were subsequently brought by the petitioner before the tribunal, and both vehemently denied that there was cancellation of results in Essien Udim local government area.
Dr. Chris Akpan, who was serving as the ward collation agent in Ikpe Annang ward for the All Progressives Congress, APC, said there was no cancellation of results in all the 15 polling units in the ward as INEC claimed.
Akpan expressed surprise that his name and that of other three members of his family were not ticked on the voters register brought before the tribunal by INEC. He recalled that on the election day, all the names of the accredited voters were ticked with blue biro pen.
Similarly, the last witness of the day, Mr. Godwin Afangide, who served as APC collation agent for Essien Udim local government area, told the tribunal that voters appearing on page 3 of 124 of voters register marked as Exhibit R85 are all members of his family whose names were duly ticked and confirmed accredited contrary to the INEC’s allegation that there was no accreditation in all the polling units of Odoro Ikot (I) ward.
He said one of the two result sheets of Essien Udim local government area tendered in evidence was given to him after the election which had APC polled 61,329 while the closest contender, the PDP, score the total of 9,050. Afangide said the result sheet issued to him was in good condition while the other held by INEC had cancellations, mutilations and annotations all over it.
©The Sensor Newspaper
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