A workers of the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee, (INEC), Abedemi Joseph, on Friday, instructed the Presidential Election Petition Courtroom (PEPC) that they have been instructed by the Fee, their employer, to not give copies of election outcomes to political occasion brokers, who declined to signal the outcome sheets.
The witness made the revelation why testifying in a petition filed by a former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, towards the election of President Bola Tinubu.
Led in evidence-in-chief by the petitioners’ lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, Abedemi prayed the court docket to undertake her witness assertion on oath as her proof within the petition towards the victory of Tinubu.
Abedemi, who was a presiding officer in Niger State in the course of the February 25 presidential election, instructed the court docket that she was glad with the method as instructed.
She, nonetheless, mentioned that that they had directions to not give out outcome sheets of the election to occasion brokers who didn’t signal the outcome sheets.
Additionally testifying, a presiding agent in Edo State in the course of the election, instructed the court docket that she tried in useless to add the presidential election outcomes to the INEC server.
Whereas one other subpoena witness from Kogi State, Grace Ajagbonna, additionally affirmed the peaceable conduct of the election, saying she was not glad that she couldn’t add the presidential election on the INEC Consequence Viewing (IRev) Portal as instructed.
Ajagbonna, responding to INEC counsel as as to if she was pleased with the conduct of the election and her work as presiding officer, mentioned, “I used to be not glad that I used to be unable to transmit the outcome to the server.”
Nonetheless, INEC, represented by Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN; APC, represented by Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and different respondents objected to using statements made on oath by the subpoenaed witnesses to be tendered at PEPC in assist of Atiku’s petition.
Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche urged the court docket to discountance their objections and grant their request.
The five-man panel headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani , nonetheless, reserved ruling on the functions.
In the meantime, the Courtroom has adjourned additional listening to to June 10, 2023.
