Tinubu, APC, INEC oppose Atiku’s documented evidence at presidential election tribunal

President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the resumed sitting of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, challenged the admission of documented evidence presented by the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to substantiate his petition at the tribunal challenging victory of Tinubu.
Counsel to Atiku, Chris Uche, had notified the tribunal that the team has a second schedule of documents to be tendered before the court, and that the documents have been fully served on the parties involved.
The documents tendered in evidence by the Atiku legal team were identified to include certified true copies of Form EC8A downloaded from the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
The forms were said to include reports for eight local government areas in Bayelsa State, 23 LGAs in Kaduna State, 20 LGAs in Ogun, and 23 LGAs in Kogi.
The Form EC40G tendered for Kaduna State, was identified as the form where INEC recorded the number of all polling units cancelled or those where voters could not vote.
The Atiku legal team also tendered Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and accreditation data with details, including the timestamps for 33 states.
The team, thereafter, demanded the tribunal to deem the documents as read pursuant to provisions of paragraph 46(a) of the first schedule of the Electoral Act.
However, Tinubu, APC and INEC responding to the Kogi State document, rejected the admission of all the documents in most of the local governments, but for those from Olamaboro, Ofu, Omala, Okehi and Ajaokuta.
They further opposed the demand that the documents be deemed as read, having objected to their admissibility.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, admitted the document in evidence, before making adjournment for continuation of hearing.