A witness to the Governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom, William Nsikak Ndarake has claimed that he recorded the video exhibit while held at a gunpoint.
Igbere TV reports that he made this known while testifying for Mr Nsima Ekere on Wednesday.
Ndarake told the Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal in Uyo that despite being held hostage at gunpoint, he recorded on video, election rigging at Obot Akara local government Area.
Another petitioner’s witness, Chris Okorie contradicted the position of an earlier witness Akanimo Edet, when he told the tribunal that the governorship elections in Etim Ekpo was devoid of any rancour and as such INEC ought not to have cancel result from any ward.
Okorie, a former chairman of Etim Ekpo and former Special Assistant to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, denied having any knowledge of who his represented his party as local government agent in the election in which he contested as candidate for the House of Assembly.
Engr. Akanimo Edet, APC local government collation agent had told the tribunal last week that election in Etim Ekpo was marred by widespread irregularities and all the result from the exercise during the Governorship election should be cancelled.
But Okorie, denied knowledge of who his party’s local government agent was, saying he was focusing on winning his own election as House of Assembly.
On the other hand, William Ndarake who claimed he was an INEC adhoc staff (Assistant Presiding Officer- SPO) for Nto Edino Ward 4, Unit 005, claimed he was abducted with election materials to the house of Senator Chris Ekpenyong at Abia Okpo Nkan, where at gunpoint he was ordered at gunpoint to rig in support of PDP.
The video which he claimed was recorded inside the house of Senator Ekpenyong, did not show Chris Ekpenyong, neither did it authenticate that the place was Ekpenyong’s house.
“When they took us there, they ordered us to comply or none of us will leave there alive”, he alleged.
During cross examination by Counsel to 3rd respondent Sylva Oguwemoh SAN, the witness said he was in the abducted location for about an hour and denied seeing Chris Ekpenyong throughout the episode, adding that despite the fear of his life, he still went ahead to record the video.
The surprised Counsel to INEC, referring to his witness deposition asked, “but the thugs who brought you to the house were well armed and you were afraid of them and wanted to run”?
Under cross examination, the witness who claimed he made the video recording at the same time the alleged PDP thugs were threatening to kill him should he fail to “cooperate”, could not point at any thug, threat or violence scene in the video.
Rather, the witness told the tribunal that he dropped his phone on the floor to record and afterwards carried it and continue the recording.
During further interrogation on if his phone remained on the floor for that duration of time, he said he was able to carry it and continue further recording.
He said the over three minutes video which had never tampered by anyone, contains unedited scenes of all that took place in his place of captivity in one hour.
“I did not edit the video, I stopped it and then continued recording again” the witness said.
Despite his allegations that Barr Emmanuel Enoidem used armed thugs to cause violence in some parts of the local government during the election, Barr Okorie admitted under cross examination that he never reported such claims to the police neither is Barr Enoidem facing any criminal case at any court in the area.
