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The Labour Party and its presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, have presented in court blurred result sheets from 18,088 polling units among other documents as hearing of petitions continued in the case against President Bola Tinubu's victory.
Obi and his party are contesting the outcome of the February 25 election at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Appeal Court in Abuja.
At the resumption of hearing on Thursday, June 15, 2023, counsel to the petitioners, Onyechi Ikpeazu, tendered the documents through the petitioners’ fourth witness (PW4), Eric Ofoedu.
Ofoedu is a Professor of Mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who was contracted by the Labour Party to help analyse the data in respect of the presidential election.
The counsel tendered a letter of engagement written to Ofoedu by the party and dated February 20, 2023, as well as the subpoena issued on him to attend the court and produce the said documents.
But, counsels to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, Abubakar Mahmoud, Lateef Fagbemi, and Wole Olanipekun respectively, all objected to the tendering of the documents.
The lawyers, however, promised to adduce reasons for their objection at the final stage of their written addresses.
The respondents' lawyers also frowned against the petitioners' decision to serve them the written statement of the Professor of Mathematics only a few minutes before sitting commenced, saying they ought to have been served earlier to enable them to study the statement for cross-examination.
Meanwhile, the petitioners also called its fifth witness (PW5), Lumnie Edevbie, a reporter who was subpoenaed from Arise Television.
Edevbie tendered a flash drive, containing a video recording of a presentation by INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, at the Chatham House, London, back in January of this year.