LP Candidate’s Witness Alleges Coercion in Nasarawa Election, Challenges Result at PEPC
Ibrahim Hamza, a witness representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate Atiku Abubakar in the ongoing case at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), made significant claims regarding the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the election results in Nasarawa State. Hamza, who served as the PDP’s state collation agent, asserted that Obi would not have emerged victorious in Plateau if the election had been conducted fairly. He further alleged that he had signed the result sheet provided by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under duress.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the outcome, Hamza expressed his reluctance for the court to accept the contested result, emphasizing the impossibility of the Labour Party’s victory in Nasarawa State. According to him, the authentic result is in possession of the PDP’s national collation agent, whose whereabouts he claimed to be unaware of when questioned.
Hamza further accused the manipulation of the clean copy of the result sheet that he had signed, suggesting that it had been altered to favor Peter Obi. Testifying as the tenth petitioners’ witness (PW10), Hamza made these claims during his cross-examination by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the lawyer representing President Bola Tinubu.
In his final remarks, Hamza affirmed that the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, fulfilled all constitutional requirements and provisions necessary to be declared the rightful winner of the election. The case continues to unfold at the PEPC as the parties present their arguments and evidence.
