Three Presiding Officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appeared as witnesses on Monday in the case filed by former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, seeking to nullify President Bola Tinubu’s election.
These witnesses, Janet Nuhu Turaki, Christopher Bulus Ardo, and Victoria Sani, testified before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja. They recounted their experiences with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines during the presidential election held on February 25.
According to the witnesses, while they were able to transmit the results of the National Assembly election using the BVAS machines, their attempts to electronically transmit the results of the presidential poll to INEC’s IReV portal failed.
Janet Nuhu Turaki, Christopher Bulus Ardo, and Victoria Sani served as Presiding Officers during the presidential election in Yobe, Bauchi, and Katsina states, respectively. They explained that technical glitches with the BVAS machines hindered their ability to transmit the presidential election results, even though the results of the Senate and House of Representatives elections were transmitted seamlessly.
Despite the challenges faced, the witnesses testified that they carefully collated and recorded the results of the presidential election in the polling units they served and submitted reports to INEC, highlighting the issues encountered with the BVAS machines.
During the proceedings, the Respondents in the case, including INEC, President Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), contested the admissibility of the witnesses’ statements as part of the evidence.
Legal representatives, including Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and Charles Edosomwan, SAN, appeared on behalf of the respective parties in the matter.