Reports by Thomas Ibu
It was another marathon day at the Appeal Court today, Venue of the 2019 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, as the PDP and Atiku/Obi presents more witnesses and evidences to support its petition against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The PDP and Atiku/Obi’s legal team paraded about 9 witnesses in today’s trial.
They are:
1. Zakari Ibrahim from Bauchi State
2. Silas Bukar from Gombe State
3. Usman Adamu from Bauchi State
4. Hassan Misarauta from Yobe State
5. Peter Sabo
6. Alhaji Modu Ahmed from Borno State
7. Olufemi Ogunrunde (lives in Abuja) and two others
A witness, named Zakari Ibrahim, a native of Katungu in Bauchi State told the court that the February 23, 2019 Presidential Election was marred with massive rigging, electoral violence, ballot box stuffing, vote buying and falsification of result sheets by APC agents in collusion with security officers and INEC
He informed the court that proper election did not take place in most part of his LGA, that INEC officials sabotaged the process by not distributing sensitive electoral materials to some polling units.
Another witness, Silas Bukar from Gombe State who served as a polling unit agent for PDP, told the court that there were errors on the result sheets presented to them to sign by INEC officials.
He also narrated how security agents chased away voters and in some part of his polling unit.
Usman Adamu from Bauchi State, a PDP LGA Collation Agent also told the court that, in the 30 polling units in 5 wards that he visited in his LGA, there were issues of over voting. That the results pasted at the polling units and obtained by the PDP polling unit agents don’t tally with the LGA collated results.
In Yobe state, Hassan Misarauta, another PDP LGA Collation agent told the court that the former chairman of Potiskum LGA, Ado Hamza, led thugs to many polling units in the LGA to harass and intimidate voters to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Agent from Borno State, Alhaji Modu Ahmed said, there was no election at all in most part of the 11 wards in his LGA. He also told the court that voters in 11 out of the 12 wards in his LGA voted at one location because of the security situation.
The last witness before the court adjourned for the day was Olufemi Ogurunde. He served in FCT as INEC ad-hoc Staff.
Ogurunde told the court that, few hours before commencement of election in his polling unit in the FCT, that an INEC RATEC came to his polling unit and informed them on how to transmit results to INEC central server.
He also said that they were provided with a password to enable them transmit the results of the Presidential election to the server and he did as he was instructed.
He was asked by the defendants counsel if he has seen the central server himself, he said no, that his job is just to transmit results to the sever using the smart card reader and he did.
Finally, before adjournment, the lead counsel to PDP and Atiku/Obi, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu broke the news to the court that the remaining witnesses that were supposed to testify in court today could not come to the court because, they were attacked on their way to the court.
He said that most of witnesses are wandering in the bush because of the attack.
In view of this, the trial Judge, Justice Mohammed Garba had to abruptly adjourn Sitting to Monday 15th July 2019.
*It’s time to #RescueNigeria*