Presidential poll: Our agents signed results at gunpoint, CPC tells court

ABUJA-TO convince the presidential election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja, to nullify the April 16 general election that brought President Goodluck Jonathan into power, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, yesterday, alleged that its supervisory agent in Cross River State, Mr Bassey Okon, was compelled to sign a distorted final result of the presidential poll in the state, at gunpoint.

The petitioner, which produced six witnesses in court yesterday, further told the tribunal that in Benue State, thugs, allegedly sponsored by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, carted away 37 ballot boxes, which it said was eventually stuffed with illegal ballot papers and returned to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.


Testifying in court yesterday, a governorship candidate of the party in Enugu State, Mr Osita Okechukwu, told the tribunal that INEC manipulated ballot papers to favour President Jonathan and his party, PDP, in the April polls.

80% turn out a ruse —CPC
In his statement on oath, made available to journalists yesterday, Okechukwu, said the 80 per cent turnout of voters for the presidential election in the South-South, South-East and South-West regions of the country, was a ruse, contending that it was factually impossible regarding what he called “low voters turnout” and the fact that INEC (1st respondent), supplied 75 per cent ballot papers demand per polling unit.

He said: “That 78 per cent of the votes allegedly cast in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and Imo states was unlawfully manipulated to the advantage of President Jonathan, his Vice, Namadi Sambo and PDP. The summation of votes as shown in form EC8A used to conduct the presidential election is not a true reflection of the ballot papers issued in most polling units across the states of the Federation.

“That the statistical analysis of some of the affected polling units revealed that the summation of un-used ballet papers which should have added up to give the summation of the ballot papers issued does not add up to the issued ballot papers which has the implication that the ballot papers were manipulated by INEC to favour the PDP for the purpose of conferring undue election advantage on President Jonathan and Vice President Sambo.”

Okechukwu further maintained that “INEC through one of its directors, Emmanuel Umeger, on the Nigerian Television Authority Programme, Nigeria Decides anchored by Mohammed Kudu Abubakar on April 26, 2011 at 4.30 pm in which Prof. Azingi, SAN and Dr. Hamalai were in attendance, admitted in response to a question that it has not been the practice with the commission to supply ballot papers demand of a polling unit in excess of 75 per cent of that registered voters.

“When the petitioners caused a comparative analysis of the voters stated in INEC register issued to the petitioner by INEC viz a viz the number of registered voters stated by the Commission in form EC8 series of the corresponding wards in the local government areas in Nigeria to be done and it was discovered that there was substantial differences the effect of which substantially affected the result declared by INEC.I shall rely on the national voters register for the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and INEC form EC8 series,” he added.

CPC boasts
Meanwhile, CPC yesterday boasted that it has garnered fresh evidence capable of sacking President Jonathan from office within the next three months, even as it sought leave of the panel to tender additional proof of evidence in the matter.
Consequently, counsel to the CPC, Mr Dipo Okpeseyi, SAN, prayed the 5-man panel of justices, led by Justice Kumai Bayang Akaas, to allow it to tender software evidence that he said would reveal how INEC and the PDP rigged the April 16 Presidential election.
In a motion on notice he filed pursuant to paragraph 47 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010, CPC, sought leave to tender a “Blog extracts from Lagos, GTUG, of Femi Taiwo (lead Software Developer) of INEC Open Voters Registration project (The soft ware used by INEC for voters registration)”, stressing that it would show how the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, manipulated the 2011 voters registration exercise with a view to ensuring that the ruling party, PDP, retained presidential power at all cost.
Nevertheless, though the motion was originally slated for hearing yesterday, it was however adjourned till today sequel to a counter-affidavit that was raised against it by all the respondents in the matter.
While urging the panel to throw-out the motion for grossly lacking in merit, President Jonathan and his Vice, Namadi Sambo, in a counter-motion they filed yesterday, maintained that it was already late for the petitioner to smuggle “a baseless” evidence before the court.

The duo, alongside the PDP, INEC chairman, and all the Resident Electoral Commissioners in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, argued that the petitioner, having failed to adduce such “acclaimed vital piece of evidence”, ab-initio, could not do so outside the pre-hearing session of the case.
Therefore, the respondents asked the panel to refuse the application by CPC and proceed with hearing the substantive suit on its merit.

Specifically, CPC is among other things, praying the court for “an Order pursuant to Paragraph 45 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010 and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction granting leave to the Petitioner/Applicant for enlargement of time within which to file and use Additional Witness Statements.
“An Order granting Leave to the Petitioner/Applicant to amend its List of Documents pleaded as shown in the underlined portion of the Proposed Amended List of Documents Pleaded which is attached herewith and marked as Exhibit 21 by accommodating the additional documents stated in Paragraph 10 hereof as listed in the proposed Amended List of Documents Pleaded.

“An Order granting leave to the Petitioner/Applicant to rely on additional Witnesses Statements stated in prayer 2 hereof which is already filed and served exactly in terms of the Proposed Witnesses Statements (Exhibits 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 respectively) in addition to the ones already listed in the List of Documents pleaded and filed alongside the Petition.
As well as, “an Order abridging the time for the Respondents to file and serve their Counter-Affidavit and Written Addresses in opposition to this Motion, if any, in view of the exigency of time for the Petitioner/Applicant to prove its case as given in the rescheduling Order dated the 7th September, 2011.”
It premised the application on the ground that, “the Petitioner/Applicant was one of the registered Political Parties on which platform the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates contested the Presidential Election held on the 16th day of April, 2011, and had in consequence thereof demanded for election materials from the 1st Respondent vide series of letters written to that effect before, during and at the conclusion of the election.
“That 1st and 2nd Respondents [INEC and Its Chairman Attahiru Jega] denied the Petitioner/Applicant’s request by failing to make copies of the requested election materials available and the Petitioner/Applicant was as a result forced to file an application dated the 15th May, 2011, for an Order directing the 1st and 2nd Respondents to produce for the inspection of the Petitioner/Applicant and permitting it to take copies of the election material used in the conduct of the election.
“That this Honourable Court had on the 24th day of May 2011, granted an Order pursuant to the application referred to in Paragraph 2 above in the following terms:
“An order that INEC shall grant the Petitioner and any other party in the Petition, their Counsel, agents or experts access to the biometric Data Base created by the DDC machines for register of voters, used at the Presidential Election held on 16th April, 2011.
“INEC shall give notice to parties as to time, date and place for such exercise provided that the absence of a party duly notified shall not delay such exercise.

“An Order that INEC shall grant access to the Petitioner and any other party to the Petition, their Counsel and their experts, to inspect and take Certified True Copy (CTC) of election materials i.e. a) Register of Voters used in all the Polling Units at Presidential Election held on 16/04/2011. (b) Electoral Forms EC8 A, B, C, D & E (c) Manual for the Election, (d) List of Officials of INEC including ad hoc staff who participated in the conduct of the election, (e) Records of Ballot papers distribution throughout the Federation, (f) Ballot papers used in the Presidential Election held on 16/04/2011.
“(B.) Access for inspection and taking of copies of the election materials shall be at the statutory location of such election materials i.e.
(i) Custody of Resident Electoral Commissioners in various states, (ii) Custody Chairman of INEC Provided all necessary official fees for such certification are paid.
“That even though the Order for inspection was granted early enough in the proceeding, the Petitioner/Applicant’s efforts to take advantage of the Order was met with series of frustrations evidenced by Exhibits 1 – 14.
“That the Petitioner/Applicant was as a result not accorded access to the election materials and had to rely on the Replies filed by the Respondents to generate Additional Witness Statements in proof of inherent irregularities associated with the results declared by the 1st and 2nd Respondents.
“That the additional statements herein sought to be filed could not as a result be filed at the time of filing of the Petition because the inspection and taking of copies of election materials used at the election could not be conducted at the time and the Witness Statements were only generated from the election materials filed by the Respondents in support of their Replies to the Petition filed before this Honourable Court.
“The Petitioner/Applicant filed a List of Documents pleaded which was filed alongside the Petition at a time when some of the incidences that gave rise to the documents listed in paragraphs 9 and 10 of the grounds upon which this motion is based had not arisen.
“There is the need for the Court to grant leave to the Petitioner/Applicant to rely on documents which were not listed in the List of Documents Pleaded filed alongside the Petition which were found to be relevant to the due determination of the case of the Petitioner/Applicant.
“The documents which the Petitioner/Applicant intends to rely on at the hearing but which were not originally listed in the List of Documents pleaded and filed alongside the Petition are documents which are attached to the Affidavit in support of this Motion and marked as Exhibits 1 – 14 amongst others in addition to Blog extracts from Lagos GTUG of Femi Taiwo (lead Software Developer) of INEC Open Voters Registration project (The soft ware used by INEC for voters registration).”

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Linkedin
• Pinterest

Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday


Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users

You Might Also Like

Latest News in Nigeria

« PREV

NEXT »