A retired major, Yahaya Shiko, who served as the collation agent for the Peoples Democratic Party in the Kaduna South Local Government of Kaduna State during the February 23, 2019 presidential election, said on Thursday that the results of the poll were doctored in his presence in favour of the All Progressives Congress.

Testifying before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, at the instance of the PDP and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as the 20th petitioners’ witness, Shiko said the poll in his area was marred by over-voting and allocation of figures to political parties that participated in the election.

The petitioners are, by their petition filed before the Justice Mohammed Garba-led tribunal of five judges, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC at the poll.

Shiko, commissioned as an officer of the Nigerian Army in 1993, was on Thursday, led by the petitioners’ lawyer, Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), to adopt his earlier statement on oath as his evidence-in-chief.

Under cross-examination by APC’s lawyer, Charles Edosomwan (SAN), Shiko said his account of irregularities during the election in his area was based on the reports he received from polling units agents and the ones he personally witnessed.

He said, “My statement was based on the reports I received from the polling unit agents and what I saw on the result sheets which were forwarded to the Local Government collation centre.

“There were cases of overvoting, and allocation of figures.

“These were what were carried to the Local Government collation centre.

“In my presence, the results were doctored.”

Earlier responding to questions put to him by the counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Yunus Usman (SAN), the witness said, he protested the doctoring of the results by refusing to sign the result sheets.

He said, “Figures were wrongly credited to the APC.

“At the collation centre, I made complaints when the results were announced and I protested by refusing to append my signature to the result sheets.”

Asked, he said he did not know his complaints were criminal in nature.

Also asked if he was aware if any of the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted, he said, “It is not for me to know.”

PUNCH