Tribunal Denies Peter Obi’s Request to Grill INEC on Election Technology

Ilesanmi AdekanbiJune 10, 2023

2 minutes read

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting in Abuja has dismissed an application filed by the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, seeking to interrogate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the technology it used for the conduct of the February 25th general elections.

Newsflash Nigeria had earlier reported that Peter Obi had filed an interrogatory on May 22, asking the tribunal to compel INEC to answer 12 key questions he listed on the technology it deployed for the elections.

The former Anambra State governor wants INEC to tell the court the date it conducted the functionality test on the purported improved technological system it used for the elections, as well as the names and details of those that conducted the test.

He also wants INEC to supply its answers to the following questions; “Who created/deployed the four (4) Applications Patches/Updates to fix the HTTP 500 error that prevented the e-transmission of the results of the Presidential election on 25th February 2023?

“What was the exact time of the occurrence of the technical glitch which prevented the e-transmission of the result of the Presidential election on 25th February 2023?

“What time were the technological glitches fixed and or repaired?

“What percentage of the result of the Presidential election was uploaded on the I-Rev on 25th February 2023?

“What percentage of the result of the Presidential election was uploaded on the I-Rev as at the time of the declaration of the Result of the Presidential election on 1st March 2023?

“If the Presidential Election was conducted concurrently with the National Assembly Elections on the same day and at the same time using the same technological devices, why were there glitches only with respect to the Presidential Election?”

However, all Respondents (INEC, All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, and Kashim Shettima) opposed the application for being incompetent.

Ruling on Saturday, Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel struck out Obi’s application on grounds that it was filed outside of pre-hearing period.

Meanwhile, Obi and LP were granted permission to play in open court two video recordings they tendered in evidence.

Obi is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as governor of Anambra from March 2006 to March 2014.

In May 2022, he defected from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Labour Party (LP) and became its presidential candidate for 2023 election. He is popular among many young Nigerians who call themselves “Obidients” and support his populist messages of prudence and accountability.