Expert tenders documents in support of Peter Obi’s petition against President Tinubu’s election

A cyber security expert, Dr. Chibuike Ugwuoke, tendered documents at the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday in support of a petition filed by Mr. Peter Obi.

Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) at the Feb. 25 presidential election, is challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu as declared by INEC in a petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023.

Respondents are President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and INEC.

At the resumed hearing of the petition, Obi’s counsel, Mr. Patrick Ikweato (SAN), told the court that Ugwuoke had data to nullify the results of the election in some polling units.

Ugwuoke also tendered a press statement issued by INEC’s National Commissioner for Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, on November 11, 2022, as an exhibit.

Counsel for INEC, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), however, objected to the invitation of the witness even before he was announced.

He argued that the petitioner served respondents with Ugwuoke’s statement only a few minutes before the court went into session and that respondents needed time to study it to be able to cross-examine the witness.

Counsel for Tinubu, Mr. Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel for Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the APC aligned with Mahmoud’s argument.

All the counsel objected to the admissibility of Obi’s witness and his documents, arguing that they would state their reasons in their final addresses.

The court admitted the documents as exhibits, however.

Ugwuoke is expected to testify before the five-member panel of the court presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani on Thursday.