Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the February 25 election, has sought an order from the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to interrogate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about the information and communication technology (ICT) experts involved in the election process.
Presented by Mr. Patrick Ikweto, SAN, two separate motions were argued on Obi’s behalf, aiming to ascertain the qualifications and expertise of the ICT professionals responsible for the technological aspects of the election. The motions requested that INEC provide the names and profiles of these personnel.
Obi and LP posed 12 questions that they wanted INEC to answer, as it would help support their allegations of misconduct and malpractices in the election process. The intention behind these inquiries was to strengthen Obi’s petition challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the election winner.
However, INEC, represented by Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, objected to Obi’s attempt to subject the commission to interrogation through what they deemed to be incompetent applications. Pinhero argued that the applications were untimely and should have been presented during the pre-hearing session, suggesting that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear them at this stage. He maintained that the applications should fail as they would waste the court’s time.
President Tinubu, represented by Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), represented by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, also opposed the granting of the request, deeming the applications legally inadequate.
The Presiding Justice, Haruna Tsammani, reserved ruling on the applications while setting June 9 for further proceedings in the petition.