Expdonaloaded News; Abia North senatorial election: Witnesses testify how PDP chased away voters

One of the two witnesses, who testified yesterday in the consolidated elec­tion petition of former governor of Abia State and PPA candidate in the Abia North sena­torial election, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, against the declaration of Chief Mao Ohuabunwa as winner of the elec­tion, stated that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP )supporters chased vot­ers away with dangerous weapons , making it impossible for election to hold in the area he manned as a PPA supervisor and agent.

He said that he and other PPA agents did not sign the result sheet because they were not allowed to come near the venue because of the malpractices and threat to their lives .
He told the tribunal that there was no election in the 12 polling units of the ward where he worked.
Also another witnesses, who worked as an assistant presiding of­ficer, APO 1, Ania ward in Ohafia LGA, affirmed the testimony of the first witness.
In his testimony under cross ex­amination, he said that though he was manning the card reader during the election, and was pressurised not to use it for accreditation, adding that the result sheet he saw was not meant for the ward.
The two who testified brought to nine the number of witnesses who have testified that election did not hold in some places in the zone.
Tribunal Chairman, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, while adjourning the case till August 20, 2015, granted the pe­titioners prayer to take the remaining witnesses on the adjourned day.
In an interview with Saturday Expdonaloaded blog, counsel to Kalu, Kelvin Nwufo, SAN, said that the witness who was rejected came from Abuja to tender some documents but that the respon­dents lawyers said they needed time to go through his deposition so that they will be able to cross examine him ef­fectively.
“Secondly, they said what he was coming to tender was a document al­ready rejected by the court, but I said no, it’s not the same document.”
On the other witness who Nwufo told the court should be left out, he explained that someone from the same ward had testified earlier “and because of lack of time, no need, so we can make progress.” He said they would close the case on the adjourned date for the respondents to open theirs and close the same day even as the fo­rensic expert who did the ballot paper analysis will also testify. He said that after the adjourned day, next on the proceeding schedule will be written addresses.
Also, Counsel to Ohuabunwa, Mike Onyeka, said that the petitioner’s counsels wanted to take their last wit­ness who is an INEC staff “and then we raised an objection that the deposi­tion of the witness was only filed yes­terday and served on us late yesterday. He said they needed time to respond since the matter had in the opinion of the tribunal become controversial.