Peter Obi’s request to interrogate INEC’s ICT officials met stiff opposition from the electoral body, President Tinubu and the APC at the Presidential Election Petition Court’s hearing on Thursday.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Thursday, urged the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make its ICT officials available for interrogation by his team of lawyers and experts.
Mr Obi seeks to interrogate INEC’s ICT officials regarding the use of the Internet in the conduct of the 25 February presidential election.
Mr Obi is challenging the emergence of President Bola Tinubu as winner of the poll.
He is alleging manipulation of the electoral process by INEC in favour of Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He alleged fraud and non-compliance with statutory provisions.
Earlier on Thursday, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who is similarly challenging Mr Tinubu’s victory in the election, got two of INEC’s ad hoc electoral officers to testify for him in court.
When it was turn of Mr Obi’s case at the court on Thursday, his lawyer, Patrick Ikweto, sought to know the quality of the ICT experts and professionals who superintended the presidential election.
In two requests, Mr Ikweto urged the court to order the electoral commission to supply him with the names and other details of its ICT professionals that deployed electronic devices for the conduct of the election.
Mr Ikweto formulated 12 questions to be forwarded to INEC.
According to Mr Obi’s legal team, if the court grants their request, it would enable them to ask relevant questions and elicit responses that would aid their suit.
Objections
But, INEC’s lawywr, Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), opposed Mr Obi’s applications to subject electoral officials to interrogation.
Mr Pinheiro argued that the requests were incompetent.
He contended that Mr Obi’s requests ought to have come during the court’s pre-hearing session.
The court had held its pre-hearing sessions for two weeks when it streamedlined the procedures for the trial of the substantive petition.
Mr Pinhero further contended that the court lacked the jurisdiction to grant Mr Obi’s applications.
Mr Tinubu’s lawyer, Akin Olujimi and APC counterpart, Lateef Fagbemi, both SANs, aligned with INEC in opposing Mr Obi’s requests.
The lawyers argued that the applications were incompetent, urging the court to dismiss them.
After taking the lawyers arguments, the five-member panel of the court, led by Haruna Tsammani, reserved ruling on the requests.
Meanwhile, the court adjourned further hearing of the suit until Friday.
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