Tribunal Orders INEC to Allow Buhari, APC Inspect Electoral Materials

* Ruling party seeks CTC to prepare defence
* 12 categories of materials listed

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) in Abuja has
granted the request by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its
candidate in the last presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, to
be allowed access to materials used for the election.

The permission is to enable the APC and Buhari inspect and
obtain the certified true copies (CTC) of the materials to enable
them prepare their defence against the petition to be filed by the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election,
Atiku Abubakar.

A three-man panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Abdul Aboki,
in granting the two ex-parte motions filed by the APC and Buhari,
ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to
allow the applicants inspect and obtain CTC of the materials.

The tribunal, in the two rulings on both motions, granted
similar orders.

The APC had, in a schedule it attached to its motion, listed 12
categories of election materials it sought to be allowed to
inspect. They include card readers, card readers reports and
incident forms, among others.

In the lead rulings delivered by Justice Aboki, the tribunal
granted the two reliefs in Buhari’s motion, but modified the
prayers in the motion by the APC.

It said: “Leave is granted the applicant to bring this
application at this stage.

“The 1st respondent (INEC) shall forthwith, allow the applicant
and or its representatives to inspect polling documents and obtain
certified true copies of all polling documents, in the custody of
the 1st respondent, used for the just concluded presidential
election to enable the applicant defend the petition that may be
filed by the 2nd and 3rd respondents (Peoples Democratic Party and
Atiku Abubakar).

Adelani Ajibade (for Buhari) and Olusola Dare (for APC) had,
while arguing the motions, stated that it was imperative that the
tribunal grants their clients’ prayers.

Ajibade and Dare argued that the grant of the motion will enable
their clients examine the materials used for the election and
obtain the CTC for the purpose of preparing their defence to the
petitions to be filed by PDP and its candidate in the election,
Atiku Abubakar.

Among the items named in the list attached to the motion by the
APC are all results sheets used for the election, voters’ register,
stubs of all unused ballot papers, all card readers, card readers
reports and data analysis, voters’ registers and all rejected
ballot papers.

It also sought to inspect all incident forms, all other
electoral forms or documents used in the presidential election of
February 23, held throughout the country.

On March 6, the PEPT rejected the request by the candidate of
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his party
for permission to conduct forensic analysis and scanning of
materials used for the conduct of the presidential election.

In turning it down, the tribunal said such request for forensic
analysis and scanning by experts, of computers, card reader
machines, server, among others deployed for the election by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was beyond the
scope of the provisions of Section 151(1) & (2) of the
Electoral Act (as amended), which permits the inspection of
election materials.

In a unanimous ruling on an ex-parte application by Atiku and
his party, a three-man panel of the tribunal said Section 151 of
the Electoral Act, which allows an intending petitioner to inspect
materials used for an election only allows inspection and the
obtaining of certified true copies of such materials.

Justice Aboki, who led the panel, however, said the tribunal
granted the prayers which allow the applicants the permission to
only inspect the materials and obtain certified true copies (CTC)
of the materials.

The tribunal also granted the applicant’s prayer for leave to be
allowed to bring such application at the pre-hearing stage of the
tribunal’s sitting.

According to the tribunal, the request by Atiku and PDP to call
experts to engage in forensic analysis and scanning of INEC
gadgets, computers, among other materials was outside the scope of
the meaning of inspection under Section 151(1) and (2) of the
Electoral Act.

Justice Aboki said: “After a careful examination of the reliefs
sought on the motion paper and a perusal of Section 151 of the
Electoral Act (as amended), and the decision of this court in cases
of Aregbesola v. Oyinlola, Akintayo v. Jolaoye, Senator Hope
Uzodinma v. Senator Osita Izunaso,, it is hereby ordered as
follows.

“Leave is granted to the applicants to bring this application at
this stage,

“The first respondent (INEC) shall forthwith, allow the
applicants and or their representatives to inspect polling
documents and obtained certified true copies of all polling
documents in the custody of the first respondent, used for the
just-concluded presidential election, to enable the applicants
institute and maintain an election petition.

“Prayers three, four, five and six on the motion paper are
hereby refused.

“Forensic audit, examination and analysis by forensic experts
cannot be regarded as an inspection of those documents within the
ambit of Section 151 of the Electoral Act (as amended),” Justice
Aboki said.

He agreed with lawyer to the applicants, Chris Uche (SAN) that
the Court of Appeal had, in previous decisions, permitted the
scanning of election documents used during the election at the
stage of hearing in election petition.

He added that such scanned documents must be certified by INEC
as true copies of the documents in its custody or held in the
custody of INEC.

Justice Aboki faulted Uche’s reliance on an earlier decision in
the case of Senator Uzodinma and Senator Izunaso, and noted that
the Court of Appeal has since set aside the permission granted by a
lower tribunal for the scanning and forensic audit and analysis of
election materials at pre-hearing stage.

He said: “In that case, the lower tribunal granted the pervasive
orders brought under Section 151 of the Electoral Act.

“The respondent to the said application, appealed to this court,
which found that the excessive orders granted with respect to the
inspection of polling documents and sundry other materials, were
found to be totally outside the scope of Section 151 of the
Electoral Act.

“This court found that the orders made violated the rights of
the respondents to fair hearing under Section 6 of the Constitution
(as amended).The orders made by the lower tribunal, in that case
were set aside by this court. And orders were made, by this court,
within the ambit of Section 151 of the Electoral Act.”