atiku buhari
Atiku, PDP
atiku buhari
Atiku, PDP Lose Bid to Inspect INEC Server….. Tribunal
Rejects Request
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting in
Abuja has declined to grant the application filed by Atiku Abubakar
and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for access to inspect the
server and data of smart card reader said to have been deployed by
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct
of the February 23 presidential election.
Presiding Justice of the five man panel, Justice Mohammed Garba,
in a ruling held that granting of the application would imply that
the court have delved into and resolved the contentious issue of
the existence of a central server at INEC.
The chairman added that doing so would further create the
impression that the tribunal has concluded that there is a central
server where results of the February 23 election were received and
stored.
The tribunal had on June 13 reserved ruling in the application
filed by Atiku and PDP on May 8, for access to inspect INEC’s
central server and smart card reader allegedly used in the conduct
of the February 23 presidential election.
However the tribunal in a unanimous decision refused to grant
the application on the grounds that since parties have joined
issues, the tribunal cannot at the interlocutory stage make an
order that would affect the substantive issue.
“I decline to grant the relieve sought, this application is
refused and accordingly dismissed”, Justice Garba held.
Meanwhile, lead counsel to the petitioners, Chief Chris Uche
SAN, said the decision of the tribunal would be challenged at the
Supreme Court, adding that section 151 of the Electoral Act allows
them to inspect materials used by INEC for the election.
He pointed out that the nation is looking forward to the ruling
of the tribunal on the petitioners application seeking to Inspect
the electoral materials, which he noted is pivotal, Uche said
granting the application would in no way prejudice the substantive
matter.
INEC he said is a public institution and had mentioned having a
central server and wondered why it turned around to say it has no
server. “We are not asking the court to decide whether there is a
server or not, so the aspect of the court prejudging in the issue
doesn’t arise at all. All we are saying is that the court should
allow us access to inspect the materials which we are entitled to
as INEC is a public institution funded by public funds.
So we are going to challenge that.
Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, one of the counsel to the petitioners,
also reacting said “INEC chairman himself, professor Mahmoud Yakubu
has maintained again and again before and during the election that
there is a central server, that results were going to be
electronically transmitted to that central server. And all the
Electoral Commissioners maintained that the stage we are in now is
a technological stage where things would not be done manually and
anything not done with the PVC which results would be transmitted
electronically to the central server would not be valid.
What the court have said today is like more or less that you
don’t have the right under section 151 of the Electoral Act to
maintain your petition, but we didn’t ask for details, we didn’t
ask for content, all we asked for is to allow us access.
So it is not an issue we are appealing the decision because it
is like trying your hands behind your back and expecting you to
fight. We are appealing the decision because we want to know what
is in the central server that they are hiding”.
He added that the public is also interested because budget was
made for procurement of the central server in billions and it was
approved by the National Assembly and it was disbursed. And INEC
said they have done all that. So where is the money, what is there
that they are hiding.
This is not just a case between Atiku and Buhari, it is a case
that have generated Public interest for electoral transparency,
credibility and freedom.
By PRNigeria