AWKA — A witness, Mr. Ekene Emeka Ossai has told the first Anambra State Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka that he was paid the sum of N30,000 to give false evidence before the tribunal. Ossai also claimed that he was issued with a fake voter’s card to present before the tribunal, and that he and 13 others were lodged in a hotel in Awka and lectured to give false evidence to the effect that Mr.Peter Obi, the APGA candidate at the April 19,2003 governorship election hired a bus for them to come down from Lagos to vote for him at the said election. Ossai, the 199th witness for Governor Chris Ngige currently defending the petition filed against his election by APGA candidate at the election, was being led in evidence by Mr. Emeka Ngige (SAN). He claimed that he refused to give false evidence because he was a born again.
Excerpts from his evidence.
Ngige: When did you come home to vote for the election?
Ossia: I came home to vote on April 18, 2003, Good Friday.
Ngige: By what means did you come?
Ossai: I entered a luxury bus.
Ngige: Who owned the luxury bus?
Ossai: Young Shall Grow.
Ngige: Did you pay your bus fare for that luxury bus?
Ossai: Yes I paid.
Ngige: And then you voted the following day?
Ossia: Yes, I voted.
His cross-examination by Dr Onyechi Ikpezu (SAN) counsel to Mr. Obi.
Ikpeazua: In Atani, which polling booth did you say you voted?
Ossia: I voted at Umuajada polling booth, code number 005.
Ikpeazu: Do you have APGA in your ward?
Ossai: I am not in a position to know because I just came for Easter break.
Ikpeazu: What do you do for a living?
Ossai: I am a trader, I deal on motor spare parts.
Ikpeazu: Where do you deal on the spare parts?
Ossai: At Ladipo Market.
Ikpeazu: Where do you come from?
Ossai: I come from Umueke Village, Atani in Ogbaru LGA.
Ikpeazu: Are you a member of any political party?
Ossai: No.
Ikpeazu: Did you register as a voter in the last election of 2003.
Ossai: Yes, I registered.
Ikpeazu: Did you participate in the presidential and governorship elections of April 19, 2003?
Ossai: I voted.
Ikpeazu: When did you come for the election?
Ossia: I came back on April 18, 2003.
Ikpeazu: How long did you stay at the polling station?
Ossai: I did not stay long. It was raining, so there was nobody there, I did not stay up to three minutes.
Ikpeazu: What will be your reaction if you are told that 283 voted at that your polling booth?
Ossai: Chukwuemeka Ojukwu’s mother came from my place, if there are 283 votes, you then know that APGA had 200 votes.
Ikpeazu: APGA was credited with two votes?
Ossai: My father has 28 children and all of us are grown ups and 10 of us voted for APGA.
Ikpeazu: How did you come to this tribunal?
Ossai: One young man called Egbedike Uche, alias Gbazue from Aguluzoigbo, came to Lagos on June 16, 2004, to my place. He told me that PDP and Emeka Ngige were looking for witnesses to come here and say that Peter Obi chartered a bus from Lagos to convey people home to vote for him. I told him that I will come when the time comes. On September 13, 2004, the same Uche Egbedike came to Lagos again and said that they were ready. So I said that as a man with a wife and children, I cannot move immediately, so he asked me to look for more people, that they needed six persons. I told him that I could only lay my hands on one person whom I came with by name, Samson Onyenweuche, a nativeof Agulu. On the day we came, we slept at Uche Egbedike’s house at Agulu-Uzoigbo. On Monday morning (27/9/04), he called Emeka Ngige who asked us to start coming to Awka, and he took us to Choice Hotel. It was there we met Emeka Ngige who told us why he was looking for us. He directed his personal assistant to book us into a room and we were booked in room 110 at Choice Hotel. On that Monday, he (Ngige) asked me and Samson if we had our voters card.
We told him they were at home (villages). We later brought them but he said there was a loophole which Obi’s lawyers would capitalize on and raise an objection. They forged a temporary voter’s slip and gave to me this morning (He tendered the slip. At this juncture, Ngige (SAN) raised objection, saying that the evidence of the witness was not related to elections in Atani. The objection was however overruled, and Ossai continued). They told me to hide my original voter’s card, a subpoena was served me in a lawyer suit at the Choice Hotel. We were about 14 persons receiving lecture on how to testify. All of us are from Ogbaru. He gave me Vanguard of April 17, 2003 and said there was a publication made by Mr. Peter Obi to provide free transport for people to use to come and vote for him for the 2003 governorship election. I admitted that I will say so but in my mind I know I would not do it because I am a born again (Christian).
He promised to give me N30,000 with my colleague, Samson after today’s (Wednesday) evidence. This morning, he came to say that I should add that we boarded Young Shall Grow bus hired by Peter Obi and also that we were given handbills containing Peter Obi and his posters on the bus. While at Choice Hotel, everyday they gave us N1000 for our feeding. They have so many witnesses at Choice Hotel.
Ikpeazu: Mr Ossai, in all honesty did Peter Obi hire buses to induce people to come and vote for him?
Ossai: I did not hear that or read it in any paper except this morning that they gave me this paper.
Ikpeazu: You said you were given a card this morning; let us see it?. (He tendered it and it was admitted as an exhibit). Do you have your original voters card?
Ossai: Yes, I have it here. (He tendered it and it was admitted as exhibit)
A witness for the petitioner, Okechukwu Akebuike had last year said that APGA lodged him in a hotel in Awka and given him money to vote for it in the election.
