The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja was informed on Thursday that a total of 18,088 blurred result sheets were uploaded into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Result Viewing (IReV) portal after the February 25 presidential election. This revelation was made by Professor Eric Uwadiegwu Ofoedu, a Mathematics professor at Nnamdi Azikwe University and the fourth witness for the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, who is challenging the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as the election winner.
Prof. Ofoedu testified that during his analysis of the election results on the IReV portal, he discovered the presence of blurred result sheets. He further stated that he conducted investigations and data analysis specifically on results from Rivers and Benue States, producing a report on his findings.
However, the witness’s testimony was cut short when the INEC lawyer, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmood, informed the court that he had just received the witness’s statement and needed time to review it. Mahmood requested the court to temporarily set aside the witness and grant him time to examine the documents filed by the witness in order to cross-examine him.
Counsel for Tinubu and Shetimma, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), and Lateef Fagbemi, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), aligned themselves with Mahmood’s request but suggested that the witness adopt his evidence before cross-examination takes place.
Apologizing for the late service of documents to the respondents, Obi’s lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), requested that the witness be allowed to present his evidence while the court determines the timing for cross-examination.
The Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani-led panel granted the request by the Labour Party and deferred cross-examination until June 16.
Ikpeazu informed the court about a letter of request sent to the witness by the Labour Party on February 20, requesting data analysis for the presidential election, as well as the subpoena served on the witness. All the relevant documents were tendered as evidence by the petitioner’s lawyer.
Although counsel for INEC and Tinubu/Shetimma objected to the admissibility of the letter, they did not object to the subpoena.
Justice Tsammani admitted all the documents presented by the Labour Party as exhibits in the petition.
The petitioners then called their second witness, Lummie Edeveie, a staff member of Arise News Television, who presented a flash drive containing a video. The respondents objected to the admissibility of the flash drive as evidence but did not object to it being played in court. The court granted the application, and the video, which featured a speech by INEC Chairman Prof.
Mahmood Yakubu at Chatham House in the United Kingdom, discussing the elections and assuring the potency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV portals, was played in open court.
Further hearing in the petition was adjourned to June 16 by Justice Tsammani.
Credit: IDOMA VOICE.
