By EDITH NWAPI

The Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, on Thursday tendered 18,000 blurred polling units results of the Feb 25 election before the presidential election petition court (PEPC).

Obi and his Labour Party (LP) are petitioners in the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023 challenging the election which brought president Bola Tinubu into power.

Respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) president Bola Tinubu and Vice president Kashim Shettima and All Progressives Congress (APC).

The petitioners brought their fourth witness (PW 4) Prof Eric Ofoedu before the court through whom the documents were tendered

Led in evidence by Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, counsel for the petitioners, the witness told the court, he is a professor of mathematics at Nnamdi Azikwe university, Awka..

The documents they tendered are reports of data analysis of the Feb 25 presidential election results and IreV scores investigation in Nigeria in Rivers and Benue.

The petitioners also tendered 18, 000 polling units blurred results obtained from the IreV portal.

Also, tendered were a copy of a subpoena and a letter written by Labour Party to the witness.

The letter is entitled ‘Engagement and request to carry out data analysis of the election’.

The respondents ‘counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud for INEC, Wole Olanipakun, SAN for Tinubu and Shettima and Lateef Fagbemi, SAN for APC objected to the statement of the witness.

INEC told the court that they have just been served with the statement of the witness and would need time to go through it.

“To be honest, I and my team are handicapped and do not know how to proceed.

“It is an ambush,” he said

He added that if the petitioners would wish to continue, they should ask for a step down to allow the respondents study the statement properly.

Olanipakun also appreciated Mahmoud’s submission and his handicap.

“We don’t mind taking the witness but, in alternative, he can be taking in evidence in chief today,” he said.

Fagbemi also told the court that they were also served this morning and aligned with the submission of Olanipakun.

All the respondents objected to the adoption of the statement of the witness and the documents they but reserved their responses until their final written addresses.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents objected to both the subpoena and the engagement letter and reserved their responses.

However, Fagbemi for the APC objected to the subpoena and not to the letter.

However, the court admitted all the documents tendered in evidence and marked them as exhibits.

The petitioners 5^th witness (PW 5) was also called named Lumnie Edevbie, from Arise News Television, and was taken in evidence by Patrick Ikweato, SAN.

The witness brought statement made by Prof Yakubu Mahmood, INEC chairman, at the Chatham House, London on Jan 17.

The flash drive of the statement was tendered as evidence and marked as evidence.

The respondents all objected to the adoption of the statement of the witness and the viewing of the video.

The video was however, allowed to be played.

Meanwhile, the five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned until tomorrow for the cross examination of the witness and further hearing of the petition. (NAN)

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