INEC Chair Yakubu testifies today on how he conducted presidential ballot
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Mahmoud Yakubu will testify at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) today upon a subpoena obtained by Atiku Abubakar and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to hear from the horse’s mouth what really transpired during the ballot on February 25.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by Chris Uche, SAN lead counsel to Atiku and the PDP in their petition against the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the presidential vote by the INEC.
Uche said Yakubu will testify on the conduct of the election, and he does not want the respondents, especially Tinubu and the APC, to be caught unawares.
Earlier, the petitioners called their 19th witness (PW19), Alex Ter, their first star witness, to testify.
Ter, a lawyer and politician, is PDP Situation Room National Coordinator.
INEC Counsel Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN objected when Ter was about to adopt his statements, saying the respondents had objected on May 20 to the petitioners’ reply about Ter’s additional statements.
Mahmoud said it was not pleaded in line with the law and urged the court to dismiss it and uphold the objection.
He told the court he will present the reasons for the objection in final addresses.
Uche for the petitioners countered the objection INEC raised had been argued and ruling reserved by the court.
“Whatever objection that INEC has should be kept aside,” he insisted, and urged the court to overrule the objection and allow the process to continue.
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Additional evidence to be tendered
Uche told the court the petitioners will tender INEC Manual for the 2023 election as well as video clips of broadcasts by Yakubu on the preparation for the election and clips of INEC Information and Voter Education Committee Chairman Festus Okoye, per Vanguard reporting.
He disclosed he will also tender European Union (EU) Election Observers Mission broadcast together with the transcripts and the certificates of authenticity of the three videos, in line with Section 84 of the Evidence Act 2022.
He tendered screenshots of INEC IReV portal as of March 18 and March 19, and results at polling units as of March 1 alongside the transcripts and certificates of authenticity.
Mahmoud did not object. The lawyers for Tinubu and APC objected but reserved their reasons until their final written addresses.
Ter, under cross examination by Mahmoud, admitted he was not at the National Collation Centre but was at PDP Situation Room in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He also admitted not being an ICT expert and he based his report on information obtained from PDP agents at collation centres.
He faulted the INEC for not transmitting presidential election results live electronically, stressing calculation errors led the INEC into grave errors.
Ter, also cross examined by Tinubu’s counsel Akin Olujimi, SAN, said he concluded the presidential election was invalid because of corrupt practices recounted to him by PDP agents.
Olutunji Shelle, the petitioners’ 20th witness (PW20), alleged during cross examination by Mahmoud the APC set up some secret polling units in Lagos but he did not visit any.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the petitioners have so far called 20 witnesses out of 100 they told the court they would call.
PEPC Chairman Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned the hearing until today.