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*Says Fee sure by courtroom order
The authorized workforce of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP) and its Presidential Candidate within the controversial February 25 Presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have requested the Chairman of, the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to instantly adjust to the Court docket order of March 3.
In a letter titled, ‘Demand for Fast Compliance with Court docket Order Granted On March 3, 2023, For Entry, Inspection and Examination/Evaluation of Electoral Supplies Used for 2023 Presidential Election, dated Thursday, March 9, the Lead Counsel, Joe-Kyari Gadzama, recalled that the Court docket of Attraction sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Shagbaor Ikyegh had granted orders on 3 March 2023 in favour of his shoppers (PDP and Abubakar).
The Court docket had in that ruling, expressly directed INEC to permit and grant entry to the occasion and its Presidential candidate and their representatives to examine, scan, make copies, forensically audit and procure Licensed True Copies (CTC) of all electoral supplies which had been used within the conduct of the Presidential Election.
“The Court docket in Order No. 6, particularly allowed our shoppers to hold out forensic examination/evaluation of the BVAS machines/gadgets and all info saved within the server/IREV/backend/clouds, amongst others”, Gadzama said.
In response to the lead counsel, the enrolled courtroom order was duly and promptly served on the Fee on the identical 3 March by the courtroom bailiff accompanied by his shoppers’ representatives.
He mentioned: “We have now connected the acknowledged copy of the courtroom order for ease of reference. It’s our shoppers’ transient that upon service of the order, they instantly requested for a date to observe up they usually had been requested to return on March 6.
“On 6 March, our shoppers’ representatives led by Adedamola Fanokun, Esq (workplace of the PDP Nationwide Authorized Adviser) returned to the Fee able to start inspection, examination and acquiring of the electoral supplies as ordered by the courtroom however they had been knowledgeable on the Fee’s authorized registry that there was no instruction but from the Fee on the courtroom order.
“Our shoppers additional requested an viewers with the Fee’s Director of Litigation to speed up the method however they weren’t allowed as they had been informed by the Registry workers that the Director was in a gathering. Sadly, these and different efforts by our shoppers have yielded no end result.”
Gadzama described as disturbing, the truth that regardless of service of the courtroom order on the Fee since March 3, the Fee was but to permit PDP and its representatives to entry, examine and/or get hold of the wanted electoral supplies as ordered by the courtroom regardless of repeated visits to the Fee and follow-up in respect thereof.
“Little doubt, the Fee is sure by the orders of the courtroom and can’t select if, when and/or the best way to adjust to identical.
“The unqualified obligation of the Fee, which in fact consists of INEC officers, is to unhesitatingly comply and provides impact to the subsisting order of Court docket; there isn’t a discretion to train right here.
Whereas demanding that the Fee instantly adjust to the subsisting orders of courtroom, the counsel additionally demand day by day entry to all polling paperwork, voters register, poll papers and electoral kinds/supplies for functions of scanning, forensic audit, professional examination and inspection; day by day entry to the BVAS machines/gadgets and server/IREV/backend/clouds for functions of forensic examination and evaluation in addition to CTCs of all BVAS accreditation stories, kinds EC40A, EC8A, EC8AVP, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E and all different electoral kinds/supplies on a state by state foundation.
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