The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja dismissed an application filed by Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, seeking permission to interrogate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the technology used in the general elections. Obi had requested the court to compel INEC to provide answers to 12 questions related to the functionality test, patches/updates, technical glitches, and result transmission during the presidential election.
Obi and his party believed that the answers to these questions were crucial in challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). However, all respondents, including INEC, President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the APC, argued for the application’s dismissal on grounds of incompetence.
In a unanimous decision, the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani struck out the application, stating that it was filed outside the pre-hearing period. Nevertheless, the panel granted Obi and the Labour Party permission to present two video recordings in open court. The first video featured INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu assuring the public about the electronic transmission of election results. The second video included assurances from INEC National Commissioner Mr. Festus Okoye regarding real-time result transmission through the I-Rev portal. The court admitted these videos as exhibits after Channels Television was subpoenaed to produce them.
While the application for interrogatories was dismissed, the admission of the video recordings as evidence could potentially play a role in the ongoing petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election.
