The LP and Obi informed the Presidential Election Petition Court that they are unable to proceed with their case due to INEC’s refusal to provide the requested documents.
On Monday, the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, made an accusation that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declined their request for documents.
Obi and the LP are the petitioners in the case labeled CA/PEPC/03/2023, in which they challenge the election of President Bola Tinubu. The respondents in this case include INEC president Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The LP and Obi informed the Presidential Election Petition Court that they are unable to proceed with their case due to INEC’s refusal to provide the requested documents. Mr. Jubrin Okutepa, the LP’s legal representative, informed the court that INEC had failed to furnish all the documents requested by his client.
” We are bringing this to your notice for your intervention because we have done everything humanly possible.
” This afternoon, INEC released a few IreV reports from Lagos and Gombe.
” These documents were certified since May 29. We have severally written letters detailing the documents we needed in proof of our petition.
” We have paid for most of these documents, “he said.
He also stated to the court that it seems INEC was intentionally prolonging the process. Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, the counsel representing INEC, informed the court that he had received a letter dated May 15 from the petitioners, but no further communication had been received since then.
” All the documents that the subpoenaed witnesses are tendering were provided by INEC. We never denied the petitioners any document.
“I am a senior counsel and know the importance of this matter. They should stop this lamentation, ” he said.
Mr. Wole Olanipakun, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) representing Tinubu and Shettima, assured the court that he would facilitate a meeting between senior counsels to address the raised concerns.
The court urged all parties to strive for a better understanding, emphasizing the importance of smooth proceedings and their earlier commitment to cooperation.
The petitioners, through their legal representative Patrick Ikweato, SAN, presented their seventh witness (PW 7) for testimony.
The summoned witness, Loretta Ogah, is an architect employed by Amazon Web Services Incorporated (AWS).
When it came time to adopt her sworn witness statement, the respondents raised an objection.
“I will not be in the position to examine the witness today, I need to study the documents ” he said.
