A mild drama occurred yesterday at the Akwa Ibom National Assembly
Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja when one of the witnesses of former
governor Godswill Akpabio, Mr. Stanley Annah from Ikot Ekpene
dramatically pretended to be blind when given the card reader report to
state the total number of accredited voters for Ikot Ekpene .
Mr Annah who told the tribunal that elections held in all the polling units of the council suddenly pretended to be blind and mute when told to read out the total number of accredited voters for Ikot Ekpene on exhibit P19.
After minutes of vain attempt to evade the question, he reluctantly read out 22,761 as the total number of accredited voters for Ikot Ekpene. He had also earlier declared he can’t see nor read the total number of votes cast in the Local Government.
Before exiting the witness box, counsel to the 1st Respondent, Offiong Offiong SAN, asked the court to protect witnesses from vigorous cross examination from the petitioners counsel, Chief Assam Assam SAN.
Responding, the tribunal chairman said while the court cannot force a witness to answer a question ,they are legally bound to answer questions posed to them at cross examination while the tribunal will take note of witnesses who claim in their statement on oath that they are graduates but pretend they can’t read when inside the witness box.
Mr Annah who told the tribunal that elections held in all the polling units of the council suddenly pretended to be blind and mute when told to read out the total number of accredited voters for Ikot Ekpene on exhibit P19.
Quote
“I can’t see anything, I can’t read,”
he
said. When asked if truly he is a graduate of agriculture as he
claimed, he said yes but still can’t read the figures in the document.
He also claimed he had no idea of the number of polling units in Ikot
Ekpene.After minutes of vain attempt to evade the question, he reluctantly read out 22,761 as the total number of accredited voters for Ikot Ekpene. He had also earlier declared he can’t see nor read the total number of votes cast in the Local Government.
Before exiting the witness box, counsel to the 1st Respondent, Offiong Offiong SAN, asked the court to protect witnesses from vigorous cross examination from the petitioners counsel, Chief Assam Assam SAN.
Responding, the tribunal chairman said while the court cannot force a witness to answer a question ,they are legally bound to answer questions posed to them at cross examination while the tribunal will take note of witnesses who claim in their statement on oath that they are graduates but pretend they can’t read when inside the witness box.
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