I Was Forced To Sign Presidential Poll Result In Kogi – Witness

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar presented his witness before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja on Thursday.

Abubakar and the PDP are disputing the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election held on February 25.

During the court proceedings, Abubakar’s first witness, retired Capt. Joe Agada, who served as the State Collation Agent of the PDP in Kogi State for the general election, claimed he was compelled to sign the presidential election result by officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Agada stated that the officials refused to provide him with a copy of the results unless he signed the document.

Under the guidance of Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, the witness asserted that the presidential election result in Kogi State was manipulated.

Agada detailed how he observed the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines being tampered with in over 20 polling units he visited.

He told the court, “My lords, I am a witness of truth. I did not visit all the polling units but I was present when BVAS in over 20 PUs were being manipulated across the two Senatorial Districts that I visited.”

During cross-examination by INEC’s counsel, Mr Abdullahi Aliyu, the witness claimed that the PDP agents were pressured into signing the result forms.

He confirmed, “Yes, our agents signed Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C. But they were forced to sign the results, especially in Kogi state, because INEC said they would not give us copies unless we signed.”

When questioned by one of President Tinubu’s lawyers, Chief Akin Olujinmi, Agada admitted that as the State Collation Agent for the PDP, he was coerced into signing the state collection result.

He told the court, “I was forced to sign the state collection result because without signing, they said they would deny me a copy to take to my party.”