INEC Deleted Presidential Election Results on BVAS Machine, Witness Tells Trinunal

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) purportedly deleted all of the presidential election results in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to a witness on Thursday at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former vice president Atiku Abubakar called Hitler Nnwuala, a digital forensic expert in their petition challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the victor of the February 25 presidential election.

Nnwuala gave his testimony during the petitioners’ counsel Chief Chris Uche’s (SAN) cross-examination, saying that the act was to prepare for the March 18, 2023 governorship election.

He claimed that as a sample of the FCT, he examined 110 Biomodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) voting machines.

Nnwuala, who had been subpoenaed to testify in court, acknowledged during cross-examination that given the limited sample space of 110 samples, there may be an increase in deviation as more samples are analyzed.

During cross-examination, President Tinubu’s attorney, Chief Wole Olanikpekun (SAN), questioned the forensic reports and pointed out some errors that had been found and were acknowledged by the author.

READ ALSO: INEC Chairman Refuses to Testify at Presidential Tribunal

During his cross-examination, INEC’s lead attorney, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), also voiced concerns about the small sample size used.

Mahmoud emphasized that the sample size of one hundred and ten devices represented only 3.5 per cent of all devices deployed in the FCT and 0.06 per cent of all devices used nationwide during the election.

Atiku provided evidence in support of their petition on Thursday by submitting certified true copies of INEC Form EC8A for seventeen Local Government areas in Ondo State and twenty Local Government Areas in Ogun State.

A certified true copy of Form EC8A from each of Rivers State’s twenty Local Government Areas was also provided by the petitioners.

The petition’s Respondents voiced objections to the documents’ admissibility and promised to explain why during the final address stage.