The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has concluded its defence in the petition filed by the Labour Party, having presented a single witness before the Presidential Election Petitions Court.
During the latest session of the hearing held on Tuesday, July 04, 2023, the electoral body summoned Lawrence Bayode, a Director in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department of the Commission, to testify in support of their case.
Bayode, while under oath, acknowledged that some of the election results were obtained from INEC's online portal. When cross-examined, he adamantly maintained the authenticity of the presidential election results released by the commission on February 25.
Disagreeing with Bayode's assertion, Patrick Ikwueto, the lawyer representing the Labour Party, argued that the results could not be deemed authentic when they were largely illegible.
In support of their defense, INEC's lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), submitted several documents as evidence.
During cross-examination, the witness explained that even if blurred documents were downloaded from the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), it would not impact the physical results recorded in Forms EC8As, as those remained clear and readable.
Bayode further clarified to the court that the images of Forms EC8A captured with BVAS (Biometric Voter Authentication System) and transmitted to IReV were irrelevant to the results collation process.
He assured the court that the technical glitch experienced during the presidential election did not hinder the accurate collation of the results.
In response, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the legal counsel representing President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, announced that his clients would present their defense in the petition on Wednesday, July 05.