An ugly drama ensued at the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal, last Saturday, as ex-Second-in-Command to the former Rivers State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Commander, ACP Akin Fakorede, SP Solomon Egba, attempted to tender concocted governorship election results.
Egba, who claimed to have been a subpoenaed witness for the governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Engineer Biokpomabo Awara, could not produce an authorisation to represent the police.
Following questions raised by defendant counsels, Egba abandoned the concocted results and fled the court premises.
No attempt was made by police personnel in the court premises to arrest him.
Egba, a superintendent of police, worked with his Fakorede in the Ogoni axis during the 2019 Governorship and State House Assembly elections.
They were accused of invading the Collation Centre in Bori, where the PDP Governorship Collation Officer, Dr Ferry Gberegbe, was murdered.
After the election, Fakorede was transferred from Rivers State while Egba was transferred to the Rivers State Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from Finima in Bonny where he was a Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
Counsels told journalists that Egba was a subpoenaed witness who came from the office of the Inspector General of Police.
Contacted, the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Nnamdi Omoni said he was not aware of any authorization for the former second-in-command to Fakorede to testify at the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
In an interview at the tribunal, counsel to INEC, Woyike Livingstone said that the AAC counsel made an application in respect of pleaded documents, and he prayed the court to admit the documents in evidence.
Livingstone said that he raised objection praying the court to decline the application because it was caught up by the ruling of the tribunal which struck out certain paragraphs from the petition filed by the AAC Governorship Candidate, Biokpomabo Awara.
Meanwhile, indications have emerged that the Governorship Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Engineer Biokpomabo Awara, yesterday, formally abandoned the concocted results brought in by Superintendent of Police, Solomon Egba, former second-in-command to Akin Fakorede to the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
Awara had brought in Solomon Egba, former second-in-command to Akin Fakorede to the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal as a subpoenaed witness to tender concocted results/documents, but counsels to the defendants opposed their admissibility because they were part of paragraphs already struck out by the tribunal.
At the resumed hearing, yesterday, counsel to Biokpomabo Awara, Mr Emenike Ebete said the AAC Governorship Candidate decided to abandon the police documents because they were of no value because they were dumped on the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
Ebete explained, “We will not be tendering the documents brought in by the police. They are of no value to us. We hereby abandon the documents brought by the police”.
Also speaking, Counsel to the Rivers State Governor, Emmanuel Ukala, told the Governorship Candidate of the AAC that no subpoena was served on the office of the Inspector General of Police as the tribunal registry indicates.
The Governorship Candidate of AAC, Biokpomabo Awara was petitioner witness, yesterday.
He was cross examined by the counsels of the African Action Congress (AAC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP.
The Rivers AAC Governorship Candidate admitted under cross examination that the results marked Exhibit which he tendered were not signed, without INEC official stamp, had no names of collation officers and were not signed by party agents.
He said that the said results had no authenticating features because that was how his agents received them from the field.
Under cross examination by counsel to the AAC, Henry Bello, Biokpomabo Awara admitted that other than the official INEC results he has no other results.
He said though he had no campaign rallies in any of the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, he did a few consultations in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area.
The Governorship Candidate of the AAC under Cross Examination by counsel to INEC, Steve Adehi (SAN), admitted that he did not tender all the results declared by INEC after the Rivers State Governorship Election.
He also admitted that results were declared for Obio/Akpor Local Government Area after due collation.
Awara expressed surprise that most of his agents agreed before the tribunal that the election was free and fair and conducted under a peaceful atmosphere.
He further stated that INEC has the sole responsibility to conduct, collate and declare governorship election results.
Awara said even though the state collation agent of the AAC, Chukwuenenye Kocha conceded defeat after the collation of Rivers State Governorship Election results, it was not his personal opinion.
The AAC Governorship Candidate said even though he has not spoken with his former running mate, Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh, from affidavits and publications tendered at the tribunal, Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh withdrew his candidacy long before the declaration of the governorship election results.
He said though he pleaded results of 15 local government areas in his petition, he tendered results of 11 local government areas.
The tribunal adjourned to today for the second petitioner, African Action Congress to open its case.