INEC defying court order for forensic inspection of BVAS – LP alleges

INEC defying court order for forensic inspection of BVAS – LP alleges

 The Labour Party in Imo has alleged that the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) is denying it access to BVAS used for the
November 11 Governorship Election.

 

The party’s Chairman, Mr Callistus Ihejiagwa, who said this
while addressing newsmen in Owerri on Saturday, added that the denial of access
to the BVAS was in defiance of a November 26, 2023 order of the Election
Petition Tribunal sitting in Owerri.

 

DAILY POST reports that applications for inspection of the
materials were submitted to the INEC by the LP, PDP, YPP and APGA respectively.

 

Ihejiagwa said the forensic inspection of election materials
including the BVAS is contained in the order of the Tribunal.

 

According to him, INEC had on Wednesday, denied availability
of the BVAS for inspection, insisting that only the commission’s headquarters
reserved the right to grant access to the BVAS for inspection.

 

He said the commission, however, made available only 65 out
of over 5,000 BVAS machines for inspection but denied the LP’s team of forensic
experts access to the machines.

 

He wondered why INEC would “deliberately frustrate the
process of litigation “ in an election where it was only an umpire.

 

“Contrary to orders of court for forensic analysis of BVAS
machines, an INEC official is reading out figures of accreditation from the
machines without allowing us access to Certified True Copies of the card copies
for our due diligence.

 

“ We have less than 24 hours to examine the BVAS machines,
assemble and present our findings to the Election Petition Tribunal but here we
are still awaiting access to the machines

 

“The Tribunal ordered for forensic inspection of the BVAS so
the BVAS is specifically contained in the Tribunal order “, he said.

 

Also speaking, Counsel to the LP governorship candidate,
Senator Athan Achonu, Mr Okwudili Anozie, emphasized that the tribunal’s order
for forensic examination of the BVAS machines would help ensure that the
machines have not been tampered with before and after the election.

 

He decried INEC’s disobedience to the order while restating
the party’s confidence in the judiciary for the dispensation of justice.

Recall that INEC’S Head of Voter Education and Publicity,
Mrs Emmanuella Ben-Opara had, on Tuesday, confirmed that the materials
requested for inspection were all ready and waiting to be inspected.

Source: INEC defying court order for forensic inspection of BVAS – LP alleges

 - NigerianEye
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