Prof. Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) is set to plead a no-case submission as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday, concluded its prosecution at the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo, in the alleged electoral fraud case against him.
Prof. Uduk of the Department of Physical and Health Education (UNIUYO) who was engaged by INEC as the Collation/Returning Officer for the Essien Udim state constituency elections in the 2019 general election was arraigned in December 2020 under charge no. HU/240c/2020 for allegedly publishing and announcing false results.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, January 27, 2022, the prosecution lawyer, Mr. Clement Onwuenwunor, called four Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) of INEC as witnesses, bringing the total number of its witnesses to five.
During cross-examination, Ms. Geraldine Okpashi, Supervisory Presiding Officer, Odoro Ikot 2, told the court that during the election she was going round from one polling unit to another within her Registration Area (RA) when she received a call that there were gunshots at a polling unit and that the presiding officer was abducted.
Okpashi, who appeared in court as second Prosecution Witness (PW2), said when she got to the polling unit she was afraid as she did not see any poll official and the sensitive materials had been taken away.
“I witnessed election violence at the last polling unit because I was there when the thugs arrived. When they started shooting I had to run away,” she noted.
Also, the third Prosecution Witness (PW3), Mr. Daniel Udoka, Supervisory Presiding Officer, Ukana West, Registration Area 011, testified that after distribution of election materials in the area during the state Assembly elections, thugs later came and hijacked the materials and abducted the Presiding Officers (POs) to an unknown destination.
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He added that the presiding officers had told him that they were forced to thumbprint ballot papers in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
The defence counsel, however, decided not to cross-examine the fourth and fifth Prosecution Witnesses, (PW4 and PW5)
The trial judge, Justice Bassey Nkanang adjourned the case till February 24, 2022, for the adoption of no-case submission that would be filed by the defence counsel.
Fielding question from newsmen on why he decided to file a no-case submissio’, after the close of the prosecution case, the defence lawyer, Mr. Abasiodiong Ekpenyong, said: “A no-case submission address is a position of the defense after the close of the case of the prosecution, stating two things;
‘That the evidence led by the prosecution does not meet the requirement of law or if it does, it has been manifestly discredited under cross-examination so much so that no reasonable tribunal can proceed thereafter, that is the purpose of no case.”
Ekpenyong stressed that when a lawyer for a public interest-driven case as this decides not to cross-examine a witness, something is fundamentally wrong on the grounds.
“So today as you have seen they have fielded their witnesses, the four have concluded their evidence. As to the reason why some were not cross-examined the case has been adjourned to February 24, so we await the reason in my address.”
Reacting, the prosecution lawyer, Clement Onwuenwunor said: “The defence counsel told the court that he will be making a no-case submission. Well the law provides for that, he has the right to first put in no case submission and when we get to that bridge we will cross it. We will make our responses to the court and we are confident that we are on very strong ground in this case.”
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