Election Tribunal: Atiku Used Video To Prove Existence Of INEC Server, Non-Qualification Of Buhari 

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar on Monday played a video recording at the Election Petition Tribunal where the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini admitted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would transmit election results with the use of Smart Card Reader to the its central server.

Igini in the video that was played before the Tribunal, featured in a Channels Television programme shortly before the conduct of the 2019 general elections, in which he assured Nigerians that everything has been perfected to make the election transparent.

In the interview Igini, was shown giving details of how results would be collated from Polling Units to Wards to Local Government up to the state level, therein the results so collated would be transmitted to the INEC central server through the use of the smart card reader.

Atiku’s counsel, Chris Uche SAN, tendered 48 combat discs CD that were admitted by the Tribunal as part of efforts to substantiate alleged rigging against the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Uche, who led Atiku and PDP legal team at the proceedings at the Court of Appeal, tendered the 48 video recordings through Mr. Segun Showumi, who is one of the media aides to the PDP presidential candidate. 

During the play of one of the recordings, the INEC Resident Commissioner for Akwa Ibom state was emphatic when he told Channels TV Anchors that the electoral body would surely use smart card to transmit election results to the INEC server.

In another video recording, played before the Tribunal, INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu expressed optimism before the election that the Commission would use the electronic system during the conduct of the 2019 general elections. 

In yet another video played and admitted by the Tribunal, the Nigerian Army through its spokesman, said at a media briefing that the attention of the Army had been drawn to a claim by Major General Muhammadu Buhari that he obtained the West African School Certificate (WAEC) in 1961.

The Army spokesman clarified in the video that the Army authorities have searched through the personal file of General Muhammadu Buhari and did not find the certificate in the file.

Meanwhile, Buhari through his counsel, Alex Izinyon sought to play a counter-video recording tomorrow. 

Earlier, the Tribunal chairman, Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed the objection by Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), to tendering and playing of the said video recording before the tribunal on the ground that they were not frontloaded. 

Justice Garba held that Buhari, APC and INEC are bound by the pre-hearing report they freely signed to the effect that documents to be tendered from the bar can only be opposed at the final address stage.

The tribunal chairman in a unanimous ruling also held that none of the four parties to the agreement can renege on any of the terms and, therefore, admitted the video clips as rendered by the two petitioners through their star. 

In a related development, three witnesses for the petitioners, Babagana Kukawa, Abana Pogu and Suleiman Mohamed Bulama from Borno and Yobe states testified that voters in the two states were harassed, intimidated and threatened to either vote for APC or risk being ejected from their farmlands. 

In his evidence, Bulama alleged that the APC used soldiers to molest, attack and injure some voters suspected to be sympathetic to the PDP, adding that village and district heads were used to coerce the voters into voting for Buhari. 

Hearing continues on Tuesday.