Abedemi Joseph, a staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has revealed that INEC instructed its staff not to give copies of the election results to political party agents who refused to sign the result sheets. Abedemi made this revelation while testifying in a petition filed by the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, against the election of President Bola Tinubu.
Abedemi, who was a presiding electoral officer in Niger State during the February 25 presidential election, said she was satisfied with the process as instructed. The presiding agent also mentioned that while the election was peaceful, she tried in vain to upload the presidential election results to the INEC server as instructed. Data loss may have resulted from the failure to upload the results according to standard protocol. Responding to a question by INEC counsel, Grace Ajagbonna, who was a subpoena witness from Kogi State, confirmed the peaceful conduct of the election but expressed dissatisfaction that she could not upload the presidential election on the INEC Result Viewing (IRev) Portal as instructed.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing to June 10, 2023. INEC, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and other respondents have objected to the use of the statements made on oath by the subpoenaed witnesses in support of Atiku’s petition. Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche, urged the court to disregard their objections and grant their request.
The case highlights concerns over the transparency of Nigeria’s electoral process and the issue of voter suppression.
