NATIONAL Assembly Election Petition Tribunal
sitting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, was taken
aback when a middle aged man identified as
Christopher Anirah, who was presumed dead, made
a surprise appearance to testify before it.
Anirah, was subpoenaed by the tribunal to give
evidence in the on-going trial in an election petition
matter between Hon. Gibson Ighofose Akporehe of
the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Hon. Evelyn
Omavowan Oboro, of the Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, told the tribunal that 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.
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 told the tribunal that Akporehe allegedly “forged
a death certificate from a General Hospital that I
died of cardiac failure and hypertension” and
allegedly deceived INEC to remove his name from
the list of contestants for the election.
He also told the tribunal that somebody who posed
as his family member was made to testify that the
death rumour was true to convince INEC to carry out
their evil plan of substituting his name.
Anirah further alleged that he had received several
death threats through phone calls warning him not to
come near the tribunal premises to testify in the on-
going matter between Oboro and Akporehe, adding
that the threat has since been reported to security
agents.
“The notice was supported with a forged death
certificate signed by a non-existent Dr Jude Omoefe
from a non-existent Government Hospital. It says
Christopher Anirah died of cardiac failure and
hypertension. Also backing the notice is an affidavit
of death dated January 15, 2015 and deposed to by
Okonji at the Ughoton Customary Court, Ughoton,
Delta State,” he said.
Continuing, he said; “after the primaries, I travelled
briefly out of the country. When I returned on
January 23, I heard that one Cyril Ogodo, the deputy
state chairman of my party, had allegedly sold my
mandate to one Gibson Akporehe. The party claimed
not to know about it”.
He said: “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 that is alive to be technically
erased from the surface of this earth. My family and
friends are yet to get over the shock they
experienced when they got the news that I was
dead.”.
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