By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
A detachment of security details laid serge at Wellington Bassey Way in Uyo on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at about 6:47pm as the convoy of Senator Bassey Albert, governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) left the premises of the Election Petition Tribunal.
Our correspondent who was at tribunal, reports that as soon as Senator Albert moved out of the High Court premises, hosting the Governorship Petition Tribunal, a horde of security personnel which have been laying siege on the Wellington Bassey Way near Government House and the Police Area Command blocked his convoy for an undisclosed reason.
The blockage was followed with sporadic gunshots and firing of teargas by the security details made up policemen and others, which caused panic and made people to scamper for safety. No reason was given for the action.
Credible intelligence hinted that the combined team of security operatives were reportedly under the instructions of the state government.
Efforts to speak with the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, CP Durosinmi Olatoye or the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Odiko Macdon to speak on the development proved abortive.
Senator Albert had appeared at the Tribunal as a witness in the case he instituted against the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Eno Umo Bassey.
Earlier on, a subpoenaed witness,
Mr Daniel Edet Akpan, an Administrative Staff of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), who endorsed the Certified True Copies (CTC) of Umo Eno’s academic credentials, which Senator Albert used in his petition against Eno had appeared to validate the documents.
Akpan’s appearance and validation of the CTC copies at the Tribunal had rattled the legal team of Pastor Umo Eno, as he was earlier been declared as non-existent by the institution.
It could be recalled that when the Director of Academic Affairs of the University, Dr Ime Akpabio, appeared as witness in the court on June 16, 2023, he claimed that Mr Akpan who signed the CTC copies was non-existent as a staff of the institution.
Mr Akpan’s appearance in the court at the resumed hearing on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, therefore baffled the defendant’s counsel such that their lead counsel, Paul Usoro SAN excused himself and went outside, ostensibly to study the witness’s written address.
The court, which subsequently announced recess for 30minutes eventually resumed after over an hour, to examine Mr Akpan’s evidence.
Led in this evidence by Tunde Falola, Mr Daniel Akpan tendered his letter of employment, IPPIS letter as well as pay advice covering 2021 to May 2023 from the University to establish that he is a bona fide staff of the institution.
The witness carefully identified all the documents which UNIUYO had certified through him as well as the Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) receipt for the payment of the certification.
Asked if he certified the documents in his capacity as a staff of the university, Mr Akpan answered in the affirmative. He went on to affirm that he was assigned from the Office of the Registrar to certify Umo Eno’s academic records. According to him Mr AniediAbasi Udofia was the Registrar then.
On cross-examination, Akpan said part of the job schedule of an Admin Officer includes receiving documents assigned to him for the Office of the Registrar and can also certify documents assigned to him from the Office of the Registrar.
Asked who drafts letters for the Registrar, he said the Registrar can assign anyone in his office for the assignment.
He told the court he rose as a Clerical Officer to Admin Officer, after he studied Quantity Surveying at the University of Uyo.
When Uwemedimo Nwoko suggested that he was not an Admin officer because his salary on the pay slip did not reflect what was on the promotion letter, Mr Akpan said he was not the one determining his pay.
According to him, he was posted from the Registrar’s office to the Faculty of Environmental Science in April 2023.
