INEC Denies Us Access To Inspect Election Materials — PDP, LP

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is denying them access to inspect materials used in the conduct of the February 25 presidential election, despite the court order.

The Court of Appeal, presided over by Hon. Justice Shagbaor Ikyegh, JCA sitting in Abuja, had on March 3 granted the parties access to inspect the materials.

The LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, had in a media interview, said INEC refused the party’s lawyers, access to inspect the materials, and described the behaviour as worrisome.

Also in a letter dated March 9, 2023, addressed to the INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, PDP said its representatives led by Adedamola Fanokun, from the office of the PDP National Legal Adviser, on March 6, went to the commission “to commence inspection, examination and obtaining of the electoral materials as ordered by the court but they were informed at the commission’s legal registry that there was no instruction yet from the commission on the court order.”

The letter, which was signed by the head of Atiku Abubakar/PDP legal team Joe-Kyari Gadzama noted that “our clients further requested an audience with the commission’s Director of litigation to accelerate the process but they were not allowed as they were told by the registry staff that the Director was in a meeting.

“Sadly, these and other efforts by our clients have yielded no result.”

He recalled that “the court in Order no. 6 specifically allowed our clients to carry out forensic examination/analysis of the BVAS machines/devices and all information stored in the server/IREV/backend/clouds, amongst others,” adding that the enrolled court order was served on the commission on March 3, by the court bailiff.

Gadzama regretted that despite service of the court order on INEC since March 3, the commission is yet to allow the clients and representatives “to access, inspect and/or obtain the needed electoral materials as ordered by the court despite repeated visits to the commission and follow-up in respect thereof.

“No doubt, the commission is bound by the orders of the court and cannot choose if, when and/or how to comply with same.

“The unqualified obligation of the commission, which of course includes INEC officials, is to unhesitatingly comply and give effect to the subsisting order of a court; there is no discretion to exercise here.”

He demanded that the INEC should immediately comply with the subsisting orders of the court, and further demanded “daily access to all polling documents, voters register, ballot papers and electoral forms/materials for purposes of scanning, forensic audit, expert examination and inspection;

“Daily access to the BVAS machines/devices and server/IREV/backend/clouds for purposes of forensic examination and analysis; and “CTCs of all BVAS accreditation reports, forms EC40A, EC8A, EC8AVP, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E and all other electoral forms/materials on a State by State basis.

“We hope that our demand will receive the prompt positive action that it requires as we will continue to visit the commission on a daily basis for the exercise as set out above in line with the subsisting order of the court.”