A soldier attached to 82 Division, Enugu has said that a lawmaker, Chukwuemeka Ujam, was caught with 4,000 permanent voters cards on an election day.
The soldier told the State and National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in Enugu on Monday that Ujam was intercepted at Ozalla on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway on March 28 while the election was going on.
“He identified himself as a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission and we asked him to open the booth of his vehicle where we discovered two cartons filled with the cards,” he said.
The soldier said his team took Ujam with the exhibits to their commander who tried to make some contacts to his superiors to ascertain their next line of action.
He said: “As our boss was trying to call his superior, another call came in and ordered that we release the man with the cartons of cards immediately.
“We obeyed the order and one of our vehicles escorted Ujam with the exhibits to where I did not know.”
The soldier said he would not disclose where the order to release Ujam came from for security purposes.
Another witness, Elochukwu Nwankwo, who was the constituency agent for the petitioner, said he got wind of the incident through a phone call from one ward agent.
Nwankwo said he was not at the scene when the first respondent was allegedly caught with the exhibits.
He said: “When I got to the scene, I saw Ujam sitting on the ground with the two cartons of voters cards placed beside him.”
Nwankwo said he reported the incident to the police station at Ozalla three days after the election due to the exigencies of the period.
The matter was adjourned to Augsut 27 for continuation of trial.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ujam resigned his position as a commissioner in the state to contest the election and was declared winner.
The petition was instituted by Dr. Nnolim Nnaji of the People for Democratic Change against Ujam of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Ujam represents Nkanu East/Nkanu West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
NAN.
Commentaires