The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has abruptly concluded its defence in the petition filed by the Labour Party after presenting a mere single witness at the Presidential Election Petitions Court.
According to an exclusive report by Federal Character News on Monday, the Tribunal had to adjourn the proceedings to Tuesday due to the no-show of INEC’s witness. Abubakar Mahmoud, INEC’s counsel, informed the court that they had planned to present three witnesses but encountered unforeseen personal circumstances preventing the witness scheduled for Monday from attending. It comes as a shock to Nigerians that INEC would wrap up its defence so quickly after calling just one witness.
During the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the electoral body summoned Lawrence Bayode, a Director in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department of the Commission, as its sole witness.
Under cross-examination, Bayode admitted that some of the results were downloaded from INEC’s portal. However, when pressed further, he maintained that the results released by the commission for the February 25 presidential election were genuine.
Patrick Ikwueto, the lawyer representing the Labour Party, disagreed vehemently, arguing that the results could not be considered genuine since they were mostly illegible, appearing blurred. He pointed out that Form EC8As, which are essential for collecting results at the polling unit level, were incomprehensible.
Abubakar Mahmoud, INEC’s lawyer, attempted to support their case by tendering some documents as evidence. However, under cross-examination, the witness claimed that even if the documents were blurred, it would not affect the physical results recorded in the non-blurred Forms EC8As, which he deemed irrelevant for result collation.
Bayode further asserted that the glitch experienced during the presidential election did not impact the collation of the results. This raises the question: If the introduction of the BVAS and the uploading of results in the IReV portal were intended to enhance the credibility of the election, why were citizens unable to monitor the results effectively? Not only were the results delayed, but when they were finally uploaded, they were largely illegible. So why implement these new systems if they ultimately proved irrelevant for result collation?
In response to the Labour Party’s petition, the lawyers representing President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), announced that their clients would present their defence on Wednesday.
Let’s revisit the past, recalling when INEC decided to adopt the BVAS and IReV for the election results.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adamantly pushed for the use of modern technology, specifically the Bimodal Voter Registration System (BVAS) and the Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV). These technological advancements were meant to ensure transparency and, consequently, enhance the credibility of the crucial presidential election held in February 2023. Despite facing calls for his resignation or removal due to his unwavering stance on the matter, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the commission, remained steadfast in implementing these technologies.
The BVAS serves as a technological device that verifies voters’ fingerprints and utilizes facial recognition before allowing them to cast their votes. On the other hand, the IReV is an online portal where results from polling units are directly uploaded, transmitted, and made accessible to the public. Through personal accounts, individuals can access all uploaded results stored as PDF files. The availability of polling unit-level results on this platform was expected to bolster transparency and public trust in the electoral process.
However, when BVAS was initially launched, it encountered numerous issues. During its first deployment in the Isoko South Constituency 1 by-election in Delta State on September 10, 2021, presiding officers reported difficulties on the machine’s inability to capture the fingerprints and faces of certain voters.
Surprisingly, INEC failed to grasp the lessons from this initial failure, as similar problems plagued the presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25, 2023. Countless BVAS devices malfunctioned, unable to register voters accurately, while the IReV platform proved to be utterly non-functional in numerous polling units.
The disastrous crash of both systems during the February 25th elections raised concerns among the public. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) swiftly dismissed these concerns, adamantly claiming that the technical issues faced by its Results Viewing Portal (IReV) had no detrimental impact on the functionality of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). According to INEC, the two technologies were considered almost mutually exclusive, conveniently downplaying any potential issues arising from their simultaneous failure.
Nigerians are being asked to place their trust in the authenticity of the results recorded in Form EC8As, despite the fact that the only means of verification, the BVAS machine and IReV Portal, experienced a catastrophic failure. The nation eagerly awaits the tribunal’s decision, wondering whether the credibility of the Presidential Elections results was compromised due to these technical breakdowns.
As a Nigerian, what are your thoughts on this matter?
