Presidential Election Results Falsified - INEC Witnesses
From Lillian Okenwa in Abuja
Two witnesses invited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday stunned the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, when they admitted that results of the April 2003 presidential election in some polling stations in Kaduna State were falsified.
At the resumed hearing of the election petition filed by Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Presidential candidate in the April 19, 2003 poll, the witnesses who are INEC staff made testimonies that contradicted the results declared in some of the units.
Lawal Subairu, a Presiding Officer during the election admitted the falsification of election result declared at Makarfi Central Primary School, a polling unit under Makarfi ward 014.
During cross examination, Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, ANPP's counsel asked whether Subairu recorded one hundred per cent votes as against the number of registered voters, a question to which he accepted.
However, Subairu later altered his testimony asserting that he did not record one hundred per cent voter turn- out going by the number in the voters' register.
The cross examination went thus:
Ahamba: What is the total number of valid votes cast?
Subairu: 386
What is the number recorded on the voters register?
386
Did you enter any false figure here?
Yes.
The witness further told the court that the allegation that there was violence at the polling station as reported by ANPP agent was not true and that at no time did some people attempt taking the ballot box away.
In spite of the discrepancies in the figures recorded on the day of the election, Subairu, who said he completed accreditation within thirty minutes, held that election took place and results were announced.
Under cross examination, another witness, Abdullahi Lawan, who was the Electoral Officer for Makarfi local government area of Kaduna State said the number of votes cast at a unit in Gubuchi ward in Kaduna State was more than the total number of registered voters.
"Gubuchi is another unit under my supervision, form EC8A (result of the election at the unit) recorded one hundred per cent voting but the voters' register did not reflect one hundred per cent accreditation. It is improper for the number of voters accredited to vote to be different from the number of votes cast", Lawan said.
After studying the document, Lawan who was given a copy of the result recorded for the said unit admitted that the result was inconsistent with the number of registered voters.
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