FROM CHUKS ONUOHA, UMUAHIA.
WITNESSES at the Abia North Election rerun tribunal have narrated how they nearly lost their lives in the hands of thugs sent to their polling stations by the senator representing Abia North in the Senate, Mao Ohuabunwa during the rerun election.
One of the witnesses, Ojike Kalu, who testified yesterday at the Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, said that the thugs forced their way into the polling booth, and insisted that they should be accredited, threatening to harm them if they refused to comply.
He added that they had to do their bidding just to save their lives even when the machine recording process was not functional.
He explained that when one of them saw that the card reader machine wasn’t working, he grabbed the voters register and started thumb printing, threatening to kill them if they did not cooperate.
Hear him, “They insisted that we insert their voters cards into the card reader machines, and I obeyed, but the machine wasn’t functioning. One of them took the opportunity and forcefully grabbed the ballot papers and started thumb printing after threatening to kill us if we don’t cooperate,” Ojike told the Tribunal.
Meanwhile, six more witnesses, have so far testified, in favour of the petitioner, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, while four testified on Thursday, bringing the number to 10.
The petitioner and candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) had challenged the election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ohuabunwa, praying the Tribunal to declare him winner.
Three of the witnesses including, Chukwuma Nkata, Ojike Kalu Ojike and Chinedu Onuke, were ad hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election.
They all testified that in their areas of electoral assignment, thugs, working for Ohuabunwa chased away voters and hijacked the materials.
They also stated that the thugs thumb printed in favour of Ohuabunwa and unanimously stated that in all the polling units they served, not up to 10 voters were accredited to vote.
Other witnesses include Ahamefula Okereke Chioma, Onyekachi Okoronkwo and Anyalewechi Elekwa, served as PPA agents during the election in Arochukwu told the Tribunal that voting did not take place at all.
They also said thugs working for Ohuabunwa, the 1st Respondent in the suit chased away voters and carried away the materials including voters register, ballot papers and boxes and result sheets.