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*As panel deliberates on Akwa Ibom, River States polls
Indications emerged on Wednesday that The Major General Adeniyi Oyebade led Nigerian Army panel of inquiry investigating the alleged partisanship of members of the Nigeria Army during the 2015 general election set up by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, may invite the Senate Minority Leader and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio [above] for questioning concerning his role in the killings, hijacking of election materials and the use of thugs during the 2015 general elections in Akwa Ibom state.
Testifying before the panel which also has Brig. Gen. Sunday Araoye, Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Kabuk, Brig. Gen. Baba Ibrahim and Col. Danladi Salihu as members, an army captain from the Wellington Bassey Army Barracks in Ibawa who monitored the election in Eket senatorial district, Capt. Addulkadir told the panel that all the killings, thuggery, hijacking and diversion of election materials were masterminded by Akpabio with the connivance of the immediate past Police Commissioner in the state, Mr. Gabriel Achong.
Backing his testimony with video and photographic evidence, Addulkadir said he personally arrested a group of thugs alongside the DPO of Eket LGA on election day with election materials for Eket and Mkpat Enin hijacked from electoral officers of INEC. Surprisingly he said, the vehicle used to perpetrate the electoral fraud belonged to the then Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Lady Valerie Ebe.
Addulkadir told the army board of inquiry that moments after he arrested the PDP thugs alongside the Eket DPO, an aide of the Deputy Governor called him and offered him money, pleading for the release of the vehicle and the arrested hoodlums. When he did not budge, he revealed that the then Police Commissioner, Mr. Gabriel Achong called saying that he was intervening on behalf of Akpabio for the release of the thugs as well as Akpabio’s deputy Governor’s car that was impounded.
He told the panel that there was no election in the whole of Eket senatorial district as all original result sheets were in the custody of Akpabio in Government House were fictitious figures were allotted to the PDP as votes allegedly cast.
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He testified that what happened on March 28, and April 11, 2015 was political terrorism by Akpabio against the Akwa Ibom people in the name of election, stating that apparatus of state were compromised and deployed to subvert the democratic wishes and aspirations of Akwa Ibom people, noting with dismay that the Akwa Ibom election fell below global best practices and standard of a credible election.
Capt. Abdulkadir told the panel that Akpabio sowed military and Police uniform for PDP thugs to impersonate and wear on election day which led to intimidation, harassment, attack and assassination of perceived political opponents by the Akpabio backed PDP thugs.
The Maj. Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade led investigation panel were also told of how the Electoral Officers (EO’s) were compromised and paid to write election results even when no election took place in the Local Government Areas and there was no collation and announcement of election results at the polling units, wards and Local Government as stipulated in the election guidelines of INEC.
The panel also heard and watched gory videos and pictures of how Akpabio unleashed a reign of terror and violence against party agents and supporters of opposition political parties which led to deaths and or serious injuries on the victims. He berated the then Police Commissioner in the state, Mr. Achong for bastardizing the Police during the election by acting openly partisan, unprofessional and converting the force to act as an appendage of the PDP which severely compromised the election and gave the PDP a safe heaven to rig the election.
More than 30 voters were gruesomely murdered by PDP thugs in Akwa Ibom state during the 2015 general election and hundreds seriously injured. APC party agents were also attacked with the Police and Army looking helpless having been compromised by Akpabio.
[Source: APC NEWS ALERT]
