Obi explains to tribunal how INEC prevented him from accessing materials in Rivers, Sokoto, other places

Peter Obi, a member of the Labour Party (LP), is running for president. He recently reported to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refused to provide him with 70% of the electoral documents he requested to help him pursue his petition.

Obi, who finished third in the presidential vote on February 25, is contesting the poll’s methodology and results.

Obi insisted during yesterday’s pre-hearing session that Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, was the beneficiary of election rigging.

His lead attorney, Dr. Livy Uzougwu, specifically informed the five-member tribunal presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani that he was unable to access the documents used for the election in the states of Rivers and Sokoto.

He bemoaned the electoral body’s N1.5 million fee for processing Sokoto State’s election materials.

In response, Uzougwu stated before the tribunal, “In the case of Rivers State, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) boldly told us they do not have any form EC8 to give us.”

He called the court’s attention to two earlier decisions ordering INEC to allow LP access so that it could inspect electoral records like the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used to conduct the election.

The Court had on March 3 and March 8 ordered the electoral body to make available certified true copies of result sheets and other data obtained from the BVAS machines so that same could be presented to aid the petitioner’s case in one of these rulings.

Uzoukwu also made reference to five different letters that INEC Chairman Yakubu Mahmood received from petitioners pleading for access to inspect and obtain pertinent electoral records to support their court case.
Abubakar Mahmoud, the INEC’s lawyer, refuted the accusations and asserted that his client was willing to work with all parties involved in the petitions and the court.

He testified before the court that Obi’s legal counsel turned down an invitation to a meeting that was called to resolve complications regarding documents to be submitted to the court.

“We agreed to meet on May 15 and May 16 on those days. However, I learned on Monday, May 15, that the Labour Party legal team had not shown up at the location for the inspection of the documents, Mahmoud said.

In Rivers, LP was given some electoral documents, he said, but LP insisted on obtaining all the necessary documents.

Mahmoud claimed that the commission had not objected to the production of any documents.

Uzougwu, Obi’s legal counsel, countered that his team had not left any meetings.

Lateef Fagbemi, the lead attorney for the APC, agreed with INEC’s stance on the accessibility of electoral records.

All legally certified public documents from INEC will not be challenged, but other documents may be, with justifications provided and arguments put forth at the conclusion of the day before judgment. He reaffirmed, “We are prepared and eager to work with the court.

Wole Olanipekun, the principal attorney for Tinubu, claimed there were no obstacles to getting documents from the electoral umpire.

Till the conclusion of the trial, Olanipekun said, “We will reserve our objection to documents.”

The court postponed proceedings until May 19 after hearing from all parties.