An Anglican priest, Reverend Canon Smart Nwankwo, has told the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja that gubernatorial election took place in the state on April 11, 2015.
Nwankwo, who was among four witnesses that were subpoenaed to appear before the tribunal on Thursday, insisted that the election that produced Governor Nyesom Wike was transparently conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The cleric told the Justice Suleiman Ambrosa-led panel that he voted at Unit 7 Ward 12 of Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, even as he tendered his Permanent Voters Card (PVC), as an evidence before the tribunal.
His PVC was admitted and marked as exhibit B-11.
While being cross-examined by Chief Akinlolu Olujunmi (SAN), who is the counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the witness, debunked allegation that the election was marred by violence and manifest irregularities.
He said: “My lords, I am an Anglican clergy. I stand here today to say that governorship election took place in Rivers State on April 11. I voted at Unit 7 Ward 12 of Ikwerre Local Government Area. At my polling unit, there was no single incident of violence or ballot box snatching. I can testify that the governorship election was free, fair and transparent.”
Other witnesses who testified before the tribunal yesterday were a lawyer, Mr. Obubeleye Charles Briggs, who told the tribunal that he voted at Unit 1 Ward 13 in Akuku Toru Local Government Area; Mrs. Nkpang Nene Igonikon, a public health worker who voted at Unit 6, Ward 5 of the same local government area, and Mr. Peter Michael, who voted at Unit 12 Ward 9 of Andoni Local Government Area.
The witnesses urged the tribunal to disregard earlier evidence by soldiers, mobile policemen and operatives of the Department of State Services, (DSS), who had testified that governorship election did not take place in the state on April 11.
The four witnesses who testified yesterday said they were duly accredited for the election, adding that after voting, they waited at their various polling units until the results were announced.
Some security operatives who were deployed to the state during the election, had in their separate testimonies before the tribunal, maintained that nefarious activities of armed thugs scared voters away on that election day.
The security agents who were brought to the tribunal by the petitioners, testified that at various polling units, thugs who they said shot sporadically into the air, manhandled INEC ad-hoc staff, snatched election materials and ran inside the bush.
Specifically, in his own testimony, the PW-50, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Yusuf Buba from 56 police mobile force squadron, Ogoni, said he witnessed massive thumb-printing of ballot papers at a football pitch in a police station.
He told the tribunal that an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Electoral Officer (EO) in charge of Kana Local Government Area in the state, masterminded the electoral malpractice.
Buba said: ”At Boni Area Command, I met people thumb printing in a football field. I immediately disembarked and went to the Area commander’s office where I met the E.O. seated in his office.
“I reported to him about what I saw and he said I should mind my business. I was left with no other option than to leave his office and continue my patrol. We visited various other places like Gwara, Okpoku, Banga, Daaba, Kor, Lubara, Uiikara, Sogo and what I noticed was that there was no election taking place in all those places.
“I called my squadron commander and gave him the SitRep and he asked me to keep watching. We returned back to INEC office after our patrol. There, I was told that the materials that where released in the early morning were all snatched at gunpoint. When I asked about the police men on duty I was told that all of them took to their heels.”
His evidence was however refuted by 16 witnesses who were earlier produced before the tribunal by INEC.
Meantime, Wike who has so far called 11 witnesses from seven local government area, will continue the process of defending his mandate before the tribunal today.
(This Day)
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