PEPT: Atiku compels INEC to tender Tinubu’s bio-data, others, as Obi presents election results from 1888 PUs

Thursday’s proceedings at the ongoing Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) featured the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as well as, the Labour Party (LP) and its flagbearer, Peter Obi, taking turns to tender evidence via certified true copies (CTCs) of documents and witnesses’ reports, which were admitted by the court.

During last Wednesday’s proceedings Labour Party tendered documents as contained in the 8th & 9th Schedule including; IREV reports from local government areas (LGAs, which were listed as follows; Benue(21 LGAS), Niger ( 25), Edo ( 17), Bauchi(20), Bauchi (all the blurred for the state), Bayelsa (8) , Bayelsa (all the blurred for the state), Bayelsa (plain sheets with ‘Cancelled’ written on them), Gombe (8), Gombe (all the blurred for the state), Kaduna (21).

In addition, Supplementary Certified IREV reports for Kaduna (2 LGAs); blurred IREV download not linked to any LGA in Kaduna; raw IREV Forms not linked to any LGA in Kaduna (5 Rolls); IREV Certificate of Compliance for 7 States, (6 Tendered, Akwa Ibom Excluded); name of the other states not mentioned; BVAS & Certificate of Compliance for 28 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), were all tendered before the court.

And as has become usual, al tendered documents were objected to by respondents, though the court admitted all of them and marked as exhibits.

Also, during Wednesday’s proceedings, LP and INEC counsels argued over the supposed refusal of the INECX chairman Yakubu to be served with the subpoena from the Labour Party, which had claimed that the INEC chief was dodging it.

At the resumed hearing, Thursday, in Abuja, the PDP which kick-started the proceedings, tendered four sets of documents before the court backing its petition to annul the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the February 25 election and now president, Bola Tinubu.

Among the documents tendered were the Form EC9 of President Bola Tinubu containing the latter’s bio data, who is the second respondent in the petition.

Recall that the Court, following an application by Atiku, issued a subpoena on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu requesting certain documents relating to the conduct of the February 25 presidential election.

The INEC boss was expected to tender the requested documents before the court on Thursday, however, the presentation was on his behalf by a Deputy Director, Certification and Complaints, Legal Drafting and Clearance Department, INEC Headquarters, Abuja, Mrs Moronkeji Tairu.

This is also Prof Yakubu continues to avoid physical presence before the court.

 It would be recalled that counsel to Atiku and PDP, Chris Uche SAN disclosed that the petitioners in the application of May 26 listed 11 items for the INEC boss to bring before the court.

However, Mrs Tairu, on Thursday, only tendered four items requested by the petitioners including; Form EC8D series (results from states), EC8DA (final declaration of results), Certified True Copies (CTCs) of Rivers Bi-modal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) report, BVAS report from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Form EC9 of Tinubu (personal information supplied by Tinubu to INEC in aid of his qualification for the presidential election).

Strangely, INEC lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, joined counsels to Tinubu and APC’ to object to the admissibility of the documents, as the court overruled them by admitting the documents

as exhibits.

Meanwhile, in the other hearing, the Labour Party tendered CTCs of election results from 1888 Polling Units (PUs) as evidence to back its own petition seeking to annul Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 election.

At a resumed hearing on Thursday, counsel to Peter Obi Mr Onyechi Ikpazu SAN called a star witness Mr Eric Ofegbu who is a Professor of Mathematics from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra state, Southeast Nigeria.

The witness tendered blurred results from 1888 Polling Units in evidence.

Also tendered are the results for the election in Benue State and Rivers State in central and southern Nigeria as well as data analysis and scores investigation.

Counsels to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN; that of Tinubu, Wole Olanipekum, SAN and the APC, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, raised objections to the admissibility of the documents.

However, Justice Haruna Simon Tsamani admitted them as evidence while the witness will be cross-examined on 16 June 2023.

The second subpoena witness who appeared was Mr Lummie Idivie from Arise Television who tendered a flash containing INEC Chairman Professor Mahmoud Yakubu affirming the use of Technology in the 2023 Presidential elections.

Chairman of the panel Justice Haruna Tsamani adjourned for further hearing on both the PDP and LP petitions to Friday, June 16.