Welcome back to the Part 2 of today’s PEPT hearing…
If you missed the Part 1… Follow up below.
#PEPTLiveUpdates : Labour Party witness testifying in court…
Let’s cocontinue….
Tinubu lawyer: You have not played with this witness statement to have done any analysis for a court case in election matter like this
Witness: No
Tinubu lawyer: You have never done it, okay. You said you were requested by 20th Feb 2023 by LP to carry out data analysis of the elections that has not even be held.
Witness: Yes
Tinubu lawyer: So all this was done in anticipation that Labour Party would lose the election ‘The whole courtroom shouts AHHH’
Witness: No that’s not it.
Tinubu lawyer: You were also in that engagement requested to determine INEC’s compliance of the regulations of the electoral act.
Witness: Yes
Tinubu lawyer: So I find it strange that after 20th Feb 2023 you didn’t give them what they contracted you for. Now you’re here on subpeona
Witness: Well at the point of start of the contract, I didn’t expect to be in court. And I took the job as I saw a means of helping my student.
Tinubu lawyer: So Justice Tsammani cuts in, I believe you heard the bell Your time is up.
It’s now time for APC
APC: My lord I am very weak in mathematics
Justice Tsamani: but you’re here to find x
APC: I will pass the mic to my colleague SAN Owonikoko ‘Hmmm SAN Owonikoko who I faced during the Lekki Massacre case’
APC: You’ve done well in your career What’s a theory in mathematics to say a document is blurred
Witness: There’s no theory
APC: So I will be correct to say that your report based on that part, is not on expertise anyone that isn’t blind would see what is blurred right
Witness: Of course
APC: What level of numeral literacy does one require to do addition of polling units result
Witness: If we go by what you asked, INEC won’t use experts
APC: So you don’t need expert to do simple arithmetic
Witness: Depends on what you mean as simple and arithmetic is not so simple and experts are needed at some point ‘He’s talking so fast’
Witness: You don’t need expert
APC: Your choice of rivers and Benue as touch stone of your analysis was a random pick and not based on any theory
READ ALSO : INEC fighting Proxy war for Tinubu – Lawyers (Video)
Witness: Yes it was random
APC: You were aware at the Presidential election, 3 leading parties won a number of states in line of votes APC, ELLU PEEE, and PDP ‘Everyone is laughing’ ‘Why did APC lawyer pronounce LP like that, abi he’s a backyard Obidient ’
Witness: My job has nothing to do with who wins and who did not
APC: But did you know as a Nigerian who won
Witness: What it seems may not be what you’ve heard. Wahalurrrrr
Justice Bolaji: are we recording or we don’t need this because we need to record ‘Thank you oh, because my hand ’
APC: Who won the election in Rivers based on what INEC announced
Witness: Based on what INEC declared I don’t know
APC: Okay you don’t know who won in Benue State
Witness: Who won is different from who was declared. BULLETSSSS
APC: You used 2 states that was won by APC
Witness: I cannot say for now
APC: The exercise you carried out here has some elements of statistics
Witness: Actual I dealt on exact data
APC: We will find that out today. What you did was sampling
Witness: No, sampling has to do with forecasting this was done with exact result
Justice Bolaji: It as if it’s only 2 of you that understand what you are doing Thank you because this is happening too fast
APC: You don’t know what rivers PU is or Benue but the total of Rivers State and Benue doesn’t reach up to 18,088 blurred you have mentioned
Witness: It’s not connected
Justice Bolaji: he’s saying it’s not adding up
Witness: Yes it doesn’t because it’s not connected
LP: My lord, understand his answer he said it’s not connected
Justice Bolaji: that’s not the answer to the questions
APC: he has answered, I got f9 in maths so no problem, do what you want.
Tinubu’s lawyers are now up
Tinubu: Witness will you confirm that you were not present at Chatham house during this on 17th jan 2023
Witness: Physically no, it was live streaming so I was present online.
Tinubu: So you were not in Chatham house, you were not invited. The INEC Chairman prof Yakubu Mahmoud is still alive today
Witness laughs: Yes I believe so as far as I know
Tinubu: That would be all my lord ‘NA WA OH’ Awon lawyer.
APC Lawyer Owonikoko is now up
APC: Can you summerize the relevance of the video you played
Witness: INEC decided to use technology for the elections
APC: Part of that development of technology would include the use of BVAS exclusively for voters
Witness: In my understanding
APC: Before 2019, voters register was used and there was no use of BVAs
Witness: Yes
APC: It was introduced in 2023 election Witness: I believe so
APC: Would I be right to say you are familiar with the guidelines of INEC Electoral act for 2023 elections
Witness: I am not totally familiar
APC: From the flash that you played, we heard the Chairman of INEC indicating that copies of forms EC8A would be snapped and uploaded on IReV portal am I correct
Witness: Yes
APC: Contents that would be aired live gets to be viewed by editor either live or online
Witness: Most times
APC: After 17th of January do you agree that a federal high court
LP cuts in: Objection my lord, my witness brought a flash drive to play his video by his company, why is he asking about federal court What’s his business.
Justice Tsammani: So what did his testimony state
LP: That he’s coming here to give evidence of what was covered on that video
Justice Ugo: Let him ask the question before you raise the objection. My only issue with what Owonikoko is saying is the part of federal court, so let him finish if it’s wrong we would address
Justice Bello: You can’t phantom his question, let him ask it first and once he’s done you will object
APC: I just want to ask him about the federal court
Justice Tsammani: Move on from that question, you can’t ask him that, did you tender any federal court document here, you can’t ask him that
APC: Are you aware that after that interview, INEC said they would no longer electronically transmit the election result ‘Everyone in court shouts a loud aahhhhhhh’ Ahhhhhhhh Owonikoko has started What is this.
Witness: I am not aware that ever happened.
APC: In a newspaper dated 23rd from Tribune, INEC said they won’t use any electronic transmission, did you see it.
Justice Tsammani: You can’t ask him that, it’s not his company, he didn’t edit or write that. I’d you want it in evidence come and tender it so we can see.
APC: Okay, that would be all my lord. Sandalili..
Labour Party lawyers have now brought in a witness from AIT after much argument from the court. The judges said there’s no more time SAN Livy insisted the witness has to be heard today because she would be attending the burial ceremony of the DAAR Communications boss who died recently.
Justice Tsammani: If it won’t take more than 30 minutes then go ahead.
SAN Ikwueto has now called out the witness. The witness has now stepped forward and she’s been sworn in. Hmmm Labour Party’s first female witness.
LP: Tell the court your name
Witness: My name is Ijeoma
LP: Tell the court where you work
Witness: I work at DAAR Communication Limited the owners of AIT Africa Independent Television and I have my ID Card to prove that.
LP: Tender the ID Card There was no objection from the respondents on the ID Card tendered.
LP: So you’re here to show us something, where is it
Witness: It’s on this flash drive.
LP: We seek to tender my lord. The flash drive has now been tendered to bar. All respondents have objected to the flash drive being tendered
LP: You have the subpoena sent to your company right
Witness: Yes I do
LP: We wish to tender my lord. There was no objection from the respondents to the tendering of the Subpoena from AIT We are now about to watch film. Ahn Ahn The film is not playing oh
INEC: There’s a problem with the transmission. There are glitches, it happens all the time.
Video on Flash has been played
It’s a short clip of Mahmood saying on AIT that Bvas has come to stay & Anyone can view the result when they want to.
A: did you have a challenge making a copy from your studio?
W: because of the shortness of time I had to go online and send the link A: do you submit a copy of every program to NBC?
W: sometimes A: you also accept news from other media houses?
W: No A: do you recall a breaking news of 22nd Feb 2023 where the chairman said there will be no electronically transmission of election result
W: the inec chairman never said anything like that
Court Is Hereby ADJOURNED Till Monday June 19th 2023 by 2pm!
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See you on Monday….
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