Presidential Tribunal: INEC Calls First Witness Against Atiku, PDP

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday called its first witness in the defence of the petition brought against it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar regarding the outcome of the February 25 polls.

Naija News reports that the witness, Dr. Lawrence Bayode summoned by the commission before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting in Abuja, identified himself as an Information Technology (IT) Practitioner at INEC.

Dr. Bayode was led in evidence by INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN).

Bayode, who said he has worked in INEC for 24 years, adopted his written deposition which he made on April 11, which he said the court should accept as his testimony in the case.

A copy of a cloud trail log and an accompanying certificate, in relation to the glitches that occurred in INEC’s system during the election were also tendered by the witness through the INEC counsel.

Before the witness was invited, Mahmoud tendered, from the Bar, a certified true copy (CTC) of a letter dated July 6, 2022, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) acknowledged by INEC.

Atiku’s Aide Mocks INEC

Daniel Bwala, an aide to the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has mocked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for failing to open its defence.

Naija News recalls that the electoral commission, on Monday, failed to open its defence at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal after 10 days break.

Reacting to the development, Bwala tweeted, “INEC failed to open its defence after 10 days break; reason? Because witnesses failed to show up. #Vuvuzela #hakunamatata”