The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday assured the legal team of Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, of its readiness to provide all documents requested to prosecute their case at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu gave the assurance when he received a 60-man team of LP lawyers, led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN.
Yakubu said the commission would also meet with its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to work out modalities for the inspection of materials in the states.
“INEC has nothing to hide. Documents available at the headquarters will be given immediately.
“A meeting has been scheduled with all the Resident Electoral Commissioners, it’s going to be a virtual meeting at 3pm, today, which we will discuss among other issues, this matter of providing Certified True Copies (CTCs) not only to the Labour Party, but to all other litigants as well.
“I want to assure you that the Commission will not hide any document from anybody and will make available any document that they have requested.There are two categories of documents. Those that are in possession of the headquarters of INEC, we will easily make these documents available to you.
“Specifically, the EC8Ds from the states and the ECD A, which is the collation at the national collection centre by the commission itself. The EC8E, the declaration, so many, a total of, I think 39 documents, this we can easily certify and give you almost immediately.
“As for other documents that we are asking for, they are at state level. So, we need to work out the schedule so that we know when your team is going to which state and on which date so that we can easily facilitate not just certification of documents, but also the inspection that you requested for each of these documents.
“The other one is accreditation data from the back end. This will also be made available to you. Remember that the accreditation data covers over 176,000 polling units. We have to print them physically, certify them, and give them to you, so the tall and short of what I’m saying is that you will get this document speedily.
“They will also make arrangements and notify our Resident Electoral Commissioners of your intended visit so that these documents will be made available to you, those that are at the level, including access to inspection of any category of materials.
“But please be assured, the lead counsel, that INEC has nothing to hide. Whatever you’re asking for will be made available to you.
“Now, the meeting will be between our technical people and you will just work things out, so that whatever we need to facilitate as a commission so that you get this document that you require as a matter of urgency, I want to assure you that you will get them as a matter of urgency,” Yakubu told the team.
Also speaking in an interview, LP’s lead counsel, Dr. Uzoukwu said: “We are here because we have not received any electoral stocks for inspection on behalf of our clients, and as you all know, election petition is time sensitive.
“We have 21 days to file a petition on behalf of our clients. Out of that 21 days, we probably have about 10 days to go and up till now, we have not received any documents.”
Uzoukwu stated that it would amount to a national calamity if all the needed documents were not made available.
“That will be a national calamity. Why do I say that? Not making the documents available will create the impression that INEC is deliberately frustrating us. That’s just the impression it will create to make sure that we cannot prosecute this petition.
“But listening to the chairman a short while ago and all assurances, I want to give him or we want to give him the benefit of the doubt that we will get some of them today.
“At least, if we get some of them today that is indicative that we’ll get some other documents from tomorrow, next tomorrow to enable us file this petition. Having said that, the way and manner, the chairman spoke, I’m confident that he will keep to his words,” he said.
The LP had earlier obtained a court judgement directing the electoral umpire to allow it inspect the materials used for the February 25 polls.
IGP tasks CPs on electoral cases
In a related development, Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba has directed Commissioners of Police (CPs) in charge of state commands to ensure investigations in all cases of violations against the 2022 Electoral Act during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections were swiftly concluded.
The police boss who directed that the case files be forwarded to INEC for prosecution, also tasked strategic police managers to engage stakeholders in their respective jurisdictions through town hall meetings and other viable avenues to achieve free, fair, and credible Governorship and State Assembly elections on March 18, 2023.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement Monday in Abuja.
He said: “IGP Usman Baba has directed CPs in charge of state commands to ensure that investigations in all cases of violations against the 2022 Electoral Act during the February 25 2023 Presidential and National Assembly electioneering process are swiftly concluded and the case files forwarded to INEC for prosecution.”
“In a bid to ensure all-inclusive election security management and accord Nigerians benefits/leverage of active participation, to achieve free, fair, and credible Governorship and State Assembly elections on March 18, 2023, the IGP has tasked strategic police managers to engage stakeholders in their respective jurisdictions through town hall meetings and other viable avenues.
“The IGP has therefore urged well-meaning members of the public to collaborate with the Police and other law enforcement agencies tasked with election security management, to ensure a hitch-free security architecture for all and sundry particularly the electorates, accredited observers, INEC officials and materials so that all citizens can exercise their franchise without molestation, harassment and security threats,” Adejobi said.
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