The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, July 19 closed his case at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.
The duo of Abubakar and the PDP closed their case after calling 62 witnesses out of the 400 earlier speculated would testify in the case.
Abubakar is challenging the outcome of the February 23, presidential election on the grounds that the result of the election was manipulated to favour President Muhammad Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Closing the case, Chris Uche SAN, informed the tribunal that they would not be calling any other witness after former Osita Chidoka, the 62nd witness had finished testifying for the petitioner.
Chidoka, a former Corp Marshal FRSC informed the tribunal that he was the National Collation Agent and Head of PDP Situation Room for the February 23, 2019 presidential election.
He admitted that he was not there when results were transmitted as well as not seening the INEC server. However, the witness told the tribunal that the INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu had consistently told them at various times during meetings that a server would be used for the purpose of electronic transmission of results.
Chidoka said he was there when the results were collated by INEC, and that it was done manually.
Though he could not disclose the serial number of the server in which results were transmitted to by party agents, however he reminded the INEC counsel that card reader was not mentioned in their meeting with Mahmood Yakubu but it was used in the election.
Responding to questions from Yakubu Maikyau, counsel to the APC, Chidoka revealed that the INEC Chairman had told him and other stakeholders during meetings prior to the 2019 general elections that they should assume the election was being conducted under the new electoral act, (which was later not signed into law).
He wondered why the commission spent a whooping N27billion on Information Technology, only to come out and tell Nigerians that it did not deploy server for the purpose of electronic transmission of election results.
Chidoka also told the tribunal that the INEC Chairman had told him that it would be immoral for the electoral body not to use electronic transmission of results after N27bn had been spent on IT facilities and equipment.
Earlier, David Nyoga from Kenya, had testified at against the election of President Muhammad Buhari.
Nyoga, an expert in information technology, told the tribunal that from his expert analysis, four websites were discovered to belong to INEC.
Upon cross-examination by counsel to Buhari, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the witness said his analysis was based on data supplied by a whistle blower.
The witness further told the tribunal that the information contained in the report of his analysis were extracts made from three of the four websites.
He confirmed that “Fact.Com was created on March 12, against the February 23 presidential election.
Under cross examination by counsel to All Progressives Congress (APC), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the witness maintained that INEC chairman can authorise access to the server.
On whether he was engaged and paid for the job, the witness answered that only the logistics for the job were paid for.
“I was not paid but logistics were paid for.”
However, he admitted that he was not granted access to the site by INEC chairman.
He also admitted that the same scientific method, without authorisation, can be used to alter the information contained on the website.
Post Views: 1,079
