A forensic expert, Hitler Nwuala, has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) intentionally erased all the results of the presidential elections from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Nwuala made this claim during his testimony as the 26th witness for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja.
Nwuala stated that he conducted an examination of 110 BVAS devices used during the presidential polls in the FCT and discovered that all the machines had their data deliberately deleted. He emphasized that the deletion of the presidential election results from the BVAS machines used in the FCT was unnecessary, as the FCT did not hold governorship elections.
During cross-examination by INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, Nwuala defended his assertion, arguing that the deviations observed in the small sample of 110 machines analyzed could illustrate an even greater discrepancy in larger sample sizes.
Despite objections by the respondents, the forensic expert’s report was admitted as evidence in the case. The court also received a certificate of compliance from the petitioners, indicating that the report had complied with the Evidence Act.
Nwuala affirmed that his investigation revealed a deliberate deletion of the election results from the BVAS machines used in the FCT. He clarified that the 110 machines he examined came exclusively from the FCT and he was unsure at what stage the results were deleted.
INEC contested Nwuala’s claim, arguing that since he did not inspect all the machines, his assertion was unsubstantiated. However, the forensic expert maintained his stance.
During the proceedings, Mahmoud presented a BVAS machine to the court, asking Nwuala to demonstrate proof of the data deletion. The witness responded that it would be unprofessional to directly access the machine, as it may compromise the integrity of the evidence. The court informed Mahmoud that the allotted time for cross-examination had expired and the BVAS inspection should be conducted in court.
Meanwhile, Wole Olanipekun, counsel for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pointed out discrepancies in Nwuala’s forensic report regarding the number of machines inspected. Olanipekun suggested that the report might contain errors, but Nwuala attributed the differences to typographical mistakes.
In addition to this development, Atiku and his party continued with their legal battle against the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the election by submitting certified exhibits from four more states – Ogun, Ondo, Jigawa, and Rivers. These exhibits are certified true copies of INEC’s Form EC8A, which was used during the presidential election.
Although INEC, Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) opposed the admissibility of the exhibits, the court admitted them as evidence. Further hearings on the petition have been adjourned until Friday, June 23.
