A video evidence from AIT’s ‘Democracy Today’ programme was on Friday displayed at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) and admitted as evidence for the Labour Party and its presidential candidate in the February 25 election, Peter Obi.
This followed a subpoena issued by the court on the broadcaster to tender the material at the ongoing trial of the petition of the Labour Party
The video was tendered through the presenter of the programme, Ijeoma Osamor, who represented the organization.
The contents of the video showed the INEC chairman Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu in a briefing held on the 22nd of November 2022, repeatedly confirming that election results will be transmitted live. Yakubu was seen and heard saying, “What I’ve said should put to rest the erroneous notion that Nigerians will not have the opportunity to view polling unit results uploaded to the site real-time.
“How can the Commission on the field on election day undermine itself? So please results will be uploaded on the INEC results viewing portal real-time on Election Day”
While counsel for INEC declined cross examining the witness, the counsel for Bola Tinubu and the APC threw some questions at the witness
Abiodun Owonikoko, who represented the APC asked the witness if she was aware that INEC, on the 22nd of February 2023 had announced that it will not be transmitting the results real-time as earlier planned.
In response, the witness told the court that she is also the reporter covering INEC and that she was at the INEC national collation centre where the INEC chairman held all his briefings before the presidential election on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and on Election Day on the 25th February and that at no time did the INEC chairman make such pronouncement.
At this point, the APC lawyer said he was no longer going ahead with his cross examination and the witness was discharged.
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