PEPTribunal: No accreditation of voters in Chibok, voters were just given ballot papers ~ PDP agent

The 38th petitioners’ witness at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, in Abuja, Mr. Abana Koku, said on Monday, that voters were not accredited before they were allowed to vote at Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State during the February 23, 2019 poll.

Koku served as the collation agent for the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in Chibok Local Government Area, during the election.

The party and Atiku are by their petition filed before the five-man tribunal led by Justice Mohammed Garba, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress at the poll.

The respondents to the petition are the Independent National Electoral Commission, Buhari and the APC.

The petitioners’ 37th witness, on Monday, alleged widespread incidents of over-voting, lack of accreditation of voters with smart card reader machines, inaccurate ballot paper accounting, and unlawful cancellation of votes in PDP’s strongholds.

Fielding cross-examination questions from the respondents’ lawyers, Koku confirmed that voters during the election were not accredited.

Asked if he was identified through any means before he was allowed to vote, Koku said, “Nobody identified anybody, people were just handed ballot papers and allowed to vote.”

The witness said the 95 polling units in the 11 wards in Chibok Local Government Area, were located in the Chibok Central Primary School, Chibok, because of the security situation in the area.

He said he saw 80 per cent of the polling unit result sheets before coming to the conclusion that there were widespread instances of over-voting in the area.

But when asked, he said he could not recall the total number of registered voters in the LGA.

He also said he could not remember the exact number of accredited voters and the total number of votes cast.

He also said he did not sign the Form EC8C, the result sheet for the local government.