Some hoodlums on Friday reportedly attacked witnesses of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23, 2019 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on their way from Zamfara State to give evidence at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), sitting in Abuja.

The witnesses were said to have been ambushed on the high way and violently attacked, an incident that cut short their journey to Abuja to give evidence in Atiku, PDP’s petition.

Lead counsel to Atiku and his party, the PDP, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), who broke the news to the Tribunal headed by Justice Mohammed Garba disclosed that the witnesses made several phone calls to him on their ordeal.

The information on the attack came after eight witnesses had testified for Atiku and the PDP to the effect that election results were transmitted into the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the use of short code and smart card readers.

Atiku’s counsel, thereafter pleaded with the Tribunal to shift further hearing in the petition till Monday to enable the petitioners reach out to the attacked witnesses.

The tribunal chairman, who sympathized with the witnesses fixed Monday, July 15, for continuation of hearing in the petition in which Atiku is praying for the cancellation of the election that produced President Muhammadu Buhari on the ground of irregularities, malpractices and non qualification  of the president to have contested the election.