How Oyegun, O’tega, others conspired to ‘kill me’ -Delta Rep aspirant

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, got a shocker of a tale when a House of Representatives aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) told the audience how the leadership of his party allegedly declared him dead so his name could be substituted in the 2015 election for Okpe, Sapale and Uvwie federal constituency.
There was a mildly shocking drama at the Tribunal when Christopher Anirah, a former House of Representatives member, who was presumed dead made an appearance to give testimony.
Anirah had been subpoenaed by the tribunal to give evidence in the on-going trial in an election petition matter between Hon. Gibson Ighofose Akporehe of the APC and Hon. Evelyn Omavowan Oboro of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But according to him, his death certificate was allegedly forged by the APC House of Representatives candidate.
Meanwhile, Hon Evelyn Oboro, in her preliminary objection, asked the tribunal to dismiss Akporehe’s petition for lack of merit, saying it is an abuse of court process.
Akporehe who is the candidate of APC in Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie federal constituency in the 2015 election, through his counsel, Mr Charles Umweni, had told the tribunal that the witness he intends to call (Anirah) cannot come to the tribunal to testify, claiming that he died after suffering a cardiac attack.
But, at the resumed hearing of the matter, yesterday, in Asaba, somebody who claimed to be Anirah stormed the tribunal and stepped into the witness box to give evidence when the chairman of the three-man tribunal panel, Justice Adebukole Banjoko, called out the name.
The sudden appearance of the said Anirah created commotion in the tribunal as the bewildered audience started shuffling and murmuring in low tones over the appearance of a ‘dead man’ in court, prompting Justice Banjoko to call for calm.

Read also: Report says policeman moved for probing Oyegun over forgery

Anirah, during examination by respondents’ counsel, Mr. Onome Egbon, told the tribunal that he was the rightful candidate of the APC for the Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie Federal Constituency in the 2015 National Assembly election until his name was ‘fraudulently substituted” with that of Akporehe on account that he (Anirah) was dead.
He then took the tribunal through the series of events, starting from when he won the party primary election to the morning of March 28, 2015, when he was finally told that he had been substituted.
Anirah said although he got wind of the “evil and desperate plot to rob me of my mandate,” he could do nothing as all his efforts to save it were futile.
“I travelled briefly out of the country. “When I returned on January 23, 2015, I heard that one Cyril Ogodo, the deputy state chairman of my party, had sold my mandate to one Gibson Akporehe while the party claimed not to know about it.
“When I formally reported the matter to the party, the state chairman, Erhue, and the gubernatorial candidate, Otega Emerhor, instructed the deputy state chairman (Ogodo) to go back and restore my name, which he did after collecting some amount of money from me.
“Surprisingly, after my name had entered into the final list of INEC, I got wind of their plan to substitute my name on the ground that I was dead. I then wrote to APC and INEC (he also tendered copies of the letter). I went there myself to submit the letters in which I informed them that some people were faking my death in order to substitute my name. That was on January 24.
“Before then, during our campaign at Orerokpe, the APC governorship candidate told the people at the rally that in a few days time, they would know who would be the House of Representatives candidate. After the rally, I met him and asked why he made such statement knowing I was the candidate. He just smiled and didn’t say anything.
“Five days later, I got a call from INEC in Abuja that if I was alive I should come to their office at 7a.m. the next day. The call came at about 9 p.m. That same night, I left Sapele at 11p.m., drove overnight to INEC headquarters in Abuja where I met Mr. Ibrahim Bawa, the head of legal unit of the commission.

You may also like: Benin hotelier sees own obituary

“They interviewed me during which I gave them evidence that I was alive.
They then assured me that I could not be substituted because I was alive. They said they were not happy over the issue, asking why the APC of all party did such a thing. They said I should meet the APC national chairman, who signed the letter of substitution, to revoke it.”
Based on the INEC advice, Anirah said he went to the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who he said apologised and promised to call a meeting to discuss the matter in order to have the substitution letter revoked.
Eventually, that promise by Odigie-Oyegun was never fulfilled, Anirah pointed out. “What I saw was that on March 27, a day before my election, Oyegun, Cyril and Otega conspired and went back to submit the same letter to INEC that I was dead and then submitted the same forged death certificate.
“On the strength of that, INEC headquarters then wrote (he also attached a certified true copy of the letter) to its office in Asaba that I was dead and should be substituted. I was informed at 8 a.m. on the day of the election that I had been replaced,” he said.
The complainant added that since then he had been making efforts to have the alleged culprits arrested all to no avail.
“I want Nigerians to help me fight this injustice, because if they let these people succeed, it could be another person tomorrow. It is unfair and inhuman for a man who is alive to be technically erased from the surface of this earth.
“My mother, children and friends are yet to get over the shock they experienced when they got the news that I was dead”.
In the petition, Akporehe of APC is challenging the election victory of Oboro of the PDP with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the PDP and eight others joined as respondents.
However, Anirah has become Oboro’s main witness in the matter

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now