Senator Akpabio’s Armed Thugs Abducted Us For 10 Hours – INEC Staff Tells Tribunal

* _…Forced Us At Gunpoint To Write Results For APC- INEC
Officer

Senator Godswill Akpabio today watched as an INEC returning
officer for Ekpenyong Ward 1 in Essien Udim local government area,
Ammba Ammba, revealed the harrowing experience of INEC officials in
the hands of APC armed thugs during the February Presidential and
National Assembly Elections.

At the ongoing National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in
Uyo, Ammba in an emotional tone, narrated that he and some of his
colleagues were abducted by heavily armed thugs to a compound where
there was no network and kept for a long period under very harsh
conditions by the former governor’s armed men.

He added that Presiding Officers were kept in captivity between
the hours of 8:00am and 6:30pm, where they were forced to
thumbprint and write results in favour of Senator Akpabio in Essien
Udim.

The incumbent Senator Ekpenyong was absent during the session as
he was said to be attending plenary in Abuja.

Ammba who appeared for the defense team as DW3 after being
subpoenaed to tribunal, tendered his report of the 2019 general
election dated 23/02/2019 to be used as an evidence with his
deposition.

Under re-examination by the INEC Counsel Ifeoluwa, Ammba
explained that the reports signed by polling officials marked as
P445-P449 were written at gunpoint while under captivity of Senator
Akpabio’s armed bandits.

Ifeoluwa: “Look at Exhibits P445-P459. From your reports, these
results were written under threat to lives of Presiding Officers in
your ward. Is that so? ”

Ammba: “That’s correct my Lord”

Ifeoluwa: “On the first page, you’d see Ekpenyong 1 is listed as
one of the wards affected by the cancellation. Am I correct?”

Ammba: “That’s correct My Lord”

Ifeoluwa: “Open the second page all 15 polling units in
Ekpenyong 1 are listed in Exhibit R352A. Is that not so?”
Ammba: “That’s correct”

The INEC official also explained that the voter’s registers used
for the elections had on them, the date they were printed, being
Saturday, January 12, 2019.

“These registers were printed before the Presidential and
National Assembly Elections,” Ifeoluwa asked?
“That’s correct my Lord” Ammba replied.

Ifeoluwa: “So I’d also be correct to say that these were the
registers that were distributed and used during the elections?”
Ammba: “That’s correct my Lord”

Relying on the voter’s register marked as R40-R55, Ifeoluwa
extracted from the witness, an affirmation that the boxes meant to
be ticked as an indication of accreditation, were not actually
ticked.

Ifeoluwa: “Please look at the Exhibits again and confirm that
there are no tickings on the boxes for accreditation for
Presidential and National Assembly Elections”.

“I can confirm that there are no tickings for accreditation for
Presidential and National Assembly Elections” – Ammba

Ifeoluwa: “I put it to you that since there are no tickings for
accreditation on voter’s registers, it means there was no
accreditaion”

Ammba: “That’s correct my Lord”
Ifeoluwa: “Because of this lack of accreditation, that’s why the 15
polling units in your ward were cancelled. Is that so? ”
Ammba: “Yes my Lord”

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NBC N2.5bn Fraud: Kawu, Others ask Court to stop Lai’s
Appearance
The Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, Lucky Omoluwa, has
asked a Federal High Court, Abuja, to stop the former Minister of
Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, from testifying in the
ongoing trial of an alleged misapplication of N2.5 billion Federal
Government Digital Switch-Over (DSO) programme.

Mohammed had been scheduled to appear as witness by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC), who is prosecuting the Director General of the National
Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, Omoluwa and Dipo
Onifade over an alleged abuse of office and money laundering.

He will be expected to tell the court his role leading to the
approval of N2.5 billion DSO seed grant to a private company,
Pinnacle Communications Limited, owned by Omoluwa with Onifade as
the Chief Operating Officer.

Counsel to Omoluwa and Onifade, Alex Iziyon (SAN), had
approached Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, with a motion seeking
the court to stop ICPC from bringing Mohammed as a witness.
His prayers, which were supported by Kawu’s counsel, Adetayo
Adeyomo, also sought to stop the court from admitting a written
statement of the former Minister filed by ICPC as evidence.

Justice Ogunbanjo-Giwa adjourned the matter to Thursday, 4th
July, 2019 for continuation of trial as well as ruling on a pending
bail application for the release of the passports of Omoluwa and
Onifade.
ICPC had filed an amended 11-count charge against Kawu, Omoluwa and
Onifade, saying that the NBC Director General misled the former
Minister into approving government funds to a private company to
carry out the DSO project.

Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, mni
Spokesperson for the Commission