The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has lamented the refusal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Yakubu Mahmood, to accept summons to appear and produce documents used for the February 25 presidential election before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja.
Counsel to Obi and LP, Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), told the court on Wednesday that the INEC chairman has continuously refused to accept subpoenas to produce the election documents despite efforts by the court bailiff to serve him.
However, Dr Kemi Pinhero (SAN), representing INEC, argued that it was untrue that the subpoena cannot be served on the INEC Chairman, adding that it has become a pattern for the Petitioner (Obi) to look for a weeping boy.
He argued that a similar subpoena from the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his party was served on INEC without hitches.
According to Pinheiro, “It’s unfair and uncharitable” for Obi’s counsel to make such a claim adding that if there is any copy of the subpoena, there is a legal department to receive the document.
He advised that if the counsel to Obi wants to ask for an adjournment, they (the respondent) are not opposing it, but “it would be unfair to use INEC as a weeping boy.”
But, Uzoukwu insisted that it was very clear that the INEC chairman can not be served with a copy of the subpoena and that the court bailiff said the service was refused, which he noted can be verified by the court.
The petitioners’ counsel, however, said he had contacted INEC’s lead counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), who has graciously requested an extra copy of the subpoena, which he promised to send to the INEC boss.
Uzoukwu expressed the hope that INEC’s counsel would resolve the issue by the end of Wednesday’s proceedings.
Earlier, the petitioners tendered additional exhibits against the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election.
The exhibits are mainly down-loads of INEC results viewing portal, I-ReV, reports which were duly certified by INEC as true copies.
The report of the results used by INEC during the election, to be used to determine the legality or otherwise of Tinubu’s return as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, were admitted by the court as exhibits
Obi, through Audu Anuga (SAN), a lawyer in his legal team, tendered I-ReV reports from seven states and Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine reports from 28 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
A breakdown of the exhibits tendered includes the download of I-ReV reports from 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Benue State, 25 LGAs of Niger State, 17 LGAs of Edo State, 20 LGAs of Bauchi State, eight LGAs of Bayelsa State, eight LGAs of Gombe State and 21 LGAs of Kaduna State.
The petitioners also tendered supplementary I-ReV reports from two Local Government Areas of Kaduna State and certificates of compliance for six states.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing of the petition till Thursday, June 15, 2023.