HURIWA Wants Acting IGP To Probe Alleged Forgery Case Against Umahi, INEC Staff 

Civil Rights advocacy group, ‘Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)’ has called on the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately intervene in the alleged forgery of documents in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It particularly said the nation’s democracy is at the verge of collapse due to the oozing smell of manipulations being committed by INEC, stressing that there was therefore the urgent need for the acting IGP to protect democracy in the country by ensuring all INEC officials allegedly involved in forging records of the 2023 elections which they gave to litigants and defenders in the on-going post-election cases at the tribunal are apprehended and brought to book.

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, who made the demand at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, said the new IGP who has been served with the petition emanating from the Senatorial election involving the former governor of Ebonyi State, Senator Dave Umahi, should as a matter of urgency, investigate the damning allegations made by the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Hon. Linus Okorie.

HURIWA further said if there is any merit in the allegations of forgery, Senator Umahi should be arrested, investigated and prosecuted if found culpable.

According to HURIWA; “Not forgetting the INEC officials directly alleged to have falsified the documents in favour of the past governor of Ebonyi State”.

HURIWA presented a petition against an INEC Assistant Director-Data, a Deputy Director, and Senator David Umahi which was submitted to the office of the Inspector General of Police, saying that the issue bordered on alleged criminal acts of conspiracy and forgery of INEC documents with the intent to pervert justice in the Ebonyi State National and State Assembly Petition Tribunal and to compromise the democratic process in Nigeria.

Part of the petition which was written by the petitioner’s lawyer, read in part; “It is our brief that following the said election conducted by INEC. The documented records of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System [BVAS) of Nigerian voters who participated in the election were retained in Custody of INEC

“Our client further informed us that following the outcome of the February 25. 2023 election, Engr. Nweze David Urnahi was declared winner and Senator-Elect for Ebonyi South Senatorial District, on the basis of which our client filed an Election Petition at the National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal challenging the result of the said election.

“Our client also informed us that following his filing of the Election Petition challenging the outcome of the elections, the following facts began to unfold”.

“That Engr. Nweze David Umahi who is the 2nd Respondent in the Election Petition filed 2nd Respondent’s Reply to our client’s Petition, which process has on its pages11, 12, 13 and 14 ‘Particulars of Votes Objected to’ and also presented certain falsified figures as BVAS Accreditation figures, with the sole intent of misleading the election tribunal and perverting the course of justice. Copies of the marked pages of the said REPLY are herein attached and marked ANNEXURE 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D

“That part of the documents filed by Engr. Nweze David Umahi in the Election Petition is a CTC of the BVAS Accreditation Report dated 6th April, 2023 with the Certificate of Compliance dated 05/04/2023 purported to have been issued by INEC and submitted as part of the records the tribunal should rely on in the course of trial. That the said report was certified….. and the certificate of compliance as computer generated evidence endorsed……, Copy of the CTC of the said BAS Presidential and National Assembly Election of 25th February, 2023 for Ebonyi South Senatorial District and the issued Certificate of Compliance are herein attached and marked as ANNEXURE 3

“That our client having noted the two conflicting CTCS of BVAS Accreditation Report issued by INEC for the same Ebonyi South Senatorial District, then prepared a report that captured for each Polling Unit, the BVAS report of 25th March 2023 and also the figures in the BVAS report of 6th April, 2023, as well as the actual accreditation figures in the results published by INEC for each Poling Unit (FORM EC8A(1);: the intent Of which was to highlight which BVAS Report tallied with the declared result f the election. Copy of the Discrepancy Report is hereby attached and marked ANNEXURE 4

“That on account of the noted discrepancy and suspected forgery of the BVAS report purported to have been issued by INEC to Engr. Nweze David Umahi, our client through his counsel, Messrs. Yusuf O. Ali & Co, and by a letter dated 18th May. 2023 requested INEC to confirm the authentic report between the BVAS Report of 25th March, 2023 (ANNEXURE A) and the BVAS report of 6th May. 2023 (ANNEXURE B).”

HURIWA therefore expressed hope that the new acting IGP, who has expressed readiness to discharge his duties, would wade in into the allegations to protect Nigeria’s democracy.