INEC calls 18,000 blurred Labour Party IReV sheets an ambush

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its dissatisfaction with the submission of 18,000 blurred Incident Report (IReV) sheets by the Labour Party (LP), describing it as an ambush.

On Thursday, the Labour Party (LP) submitted 18,000 polling unit results that were blurred during the presidential election to the tribunal.

LP presidential candidate Peter Obi has challenged the election process that resulted in President Bola Tinubu’s victory, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The defendants in the lawsuit include INEC, Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reporting from the proceedings, it has been disclosed that Onyechi Ikpeazu, the legal representative for the petitioners, has submitted data analysis reports on the presidential election. These reports were presented through Eric Ofoedu, a professor of mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who was also a witness for the LP.

Ikpeazu revealed that the documents included inquiries into IReV score sheets from Rivers and Benue states.

The petitioners have submitted 18,000 polling units with blurred results obtained from the IReV portal.

The admissibility of the documents was objected to by Abubakar Mahmoud, who serves as the lead counsel for INEC.

According to Mahmoud, the situation was akin to an ambush. He further stated that the LP had provided a copy of the witness’ statement only a few hours prior to the start of the proceedings.

Admittedly, my team and I are facing a challenge and are unsure of the next steps to take. According to him, it is an ambush.

It was expected that the counsel would have presented the statement earlier, in accordance with the court’s regulations and in the spirit of collaboration. The meal ought to have been delivered promptly to prevent this surprise attack.

Mahmood has made a plea to the court, requesting that the LP be compelled to allow the INEC legal team a 48-hour period to review the documents that have been submitted.

Despite objections from Wole Olanipakun, the counsel for Tinubu and Shettima, they ultimately agreed to hear the witness’s statement and suggested a later time for cross-examination.

Arise News TV journalist Lumnie Edevbie was summoned as a witness for the LP and was presented as evidence by Patrick Ikweato, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who is part of the party’s legal team.

During the trial, a witness presented a video statement from Yakubu Mahmood, the chairman of INEC, which was recorded at Chatham House in London on January 17. In the video, Mahmood expressed confidence in the reliability and efficiency of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).

According to all respondents, they objected to the adoption of the statement of the witness and the viewing of the video.

The session was adjourned by the five-man panel, headed by Haruna Tsammani, until Thursday. This was done to allow for the cross-examination of the witness and further hearing of the petition.