A Professor of Mathematics, Eric Ofoedu, yesterday testified before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, in the case candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, filed to nullify President Bola Tinubu’s election victory.
Prof. Ofoedu, in his testimony, told the court that over 18,088 result sheets the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, uploaded to its election result viewing portal, IReV, in relation to the presidential contest that was held on February 25, were blurred.
The don, who told the court that he was with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, was the fourth witness to testify in the joint petition Obi and his party filed to challenge the outcome of the presidential election.
He told the court that he found that the electoral body uploaded unreadable data to its portal while he was analysing results of the election, adding that he paid very close attention to the outcome of the election in Rivers and Benue states.
Move by the witness to tender some documents in evidence was opposed by all the Respondents in the matter.
The Respondents, who equally challenged the admissibility of Prof. Ofoedu’s statement on oath as an exhibit before the court, said they would adduce reasons for their objections in their final written address.
Specifically, INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Abubakar Mahmood, SAN, told the court that he was served with a statement of the witness shortly before the proceeding commenced. He argued that with the development, he would not be able to effectively cross-examine the witness.
His request for the petitioners to step down the evidence of the Respondent was supported by counsel for President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, as well as that of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
However, though Justice Haruna Tsammani-led’s five-member panel did not allow the witness to give his testimony and tender the exhibits, it said it would rule on the respondents’ objections before it would deliver judgement in the case.
Among documents the witness tendered in evidence before the court, were report of data analysis of the election, INEC results viewing scores investigation, as well as separate data analysis of results of the election in Rivers and Benue states.
Whereas the court admitted the reports and marked them as exhibits PCG1 – PVG3, it equally admitted in evidence, blurred polling units results from IReV in 18,088 polling units across the federation. Based on agreement by all the parties, the court okayed the respondents to cross-examine the witness today.
Meanwhile, immediately Prof. Ofoedu was discharged from the witness box, the petitioners called their fifth witness, PW-5, Lumnie Edevbie, who is a staff of Arise News Television who was subpoenaed to produce a video exhibit.
The exhibit, which was in a flash drive, contained a video recording of a speech the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, delivered at Chatham’s House, in London on January 17.
In the video clip played in the open court, INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu, made a case for the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, as well as the IRev for the conduct of the general elections, describing them as the commission’s biggest archive and repository of results of the elections. Although the respondents objected to the admissibility of the evidence, the court admitted it and marked it as one of the exhibits in the petition.
The court said it would also rule on the objections before its final judgement, even as it adjourned further hearing on the petition till today. Obi, who is claiming he won the presidential election is, among other things, praying the court to nullify Tinubu’s victory and withdraw the Certificate of Return issued him by INEC.
