Edo tribunal: Witnesses attest to non-accreditation, over voting at polling units

More witnesses appeared today at the Elections tribunal sitting in Benin City and hearing the petition by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the PDP challenging the INEC results of the September 28 2016 governorship election held across Edo state.

The first witness for the day, Mr. Godwin Igbinaduwa Eribo, who was the collation officer of the Ward seven at Ugbekun quarters in Ikpoba-Okha local government told the tribunal that he voted in polling unit number 32 on the date of the election.

He said that it was because of the complaints he got through phone calls from party agents in the other polling units that he was able to go round and actually noticed the high cases of over voting in most of the units in his Ward.

He added that though there were thirty eight units besides his own in the Ward he was able to go round most of them as he also noticed that, “there was over voting in many units”, “although he cannot name those (units) that were involved”.

The second witness Mr. Godwin Popori who was the party agent in Unit 5 at the Ward in St Saviour, Sapkonba road, from the same local government told the tribunal that though he was allowed to vote by the INEC official, it was however without any form of accreditation.

He also confirmed that, ” the polling units in unit five did not have voters registers”, and he got phone calls from several other polling units that it was the same incident of absence of voters register although voting was taking place.

Hon Godwin Edosa Omorogieva who was the Ward collation agent for the petitioner at the Ward of Agbonmoba on the old Benin-Sapele Road in Ikpoba okha local government area told the court that he voted on the Election Day in polling unit number 26.

He testified that when he noticed that the number of voters was more than those on the voters register in most of the polling units, he protested to the INEC official who told him , “You cannot teach me my work”.

When Actor Osabueku Ozakpolor who voted in Polling unit number one of Ward 10 at Ologbo and was a polling agent/Ward collation agent from Ologbo took to the witness box, he testified that most of the party agents across the Ward were , “brutalized and wounded during the process”.

He also told the court that there were cases of improper accreditation of voters, over-outing and that multiple thumb printing of ballot papers was the order of the day across many polling units in the Ward especially in those located the riverine communities.

Maxwell Igiede was the Ward 11 collation officer who said the voting procedure was not adhered to by INEC officials in his Ward also told the tribunal that the practice was voting without accreditation.

He said that even before voting in his polling unit number 38 in his Ward the INEC Officer did not accredit him and that he observed the same was true of many polling units such as 2, 4, 7 , 9 and 13.

Two other witnesses Revd Martins Evbuomwan and Mr Osaro Osasumen were also united in their testimonies that INEC failed to follow due process in their polling units and that cases of no accreditation of voters and over voting was the order of the day.

Try as hard as the respondents’ counsels attempted to intimidate and bamboozle the PDP witnesses, they stood their ground after taking taking relevant oaths and adopting their earlier written addresses.

The APC Governorship candidate, Governor Godwin Obaseki who was present in court had earlier exchanged pleasantries with the petitioners, Pastor Ize-Iyamu and Chief Dan Orbih, the state PDP chairman before seating briefly for the day’s proceedings.