The Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Peter Obi, have presented their final written address to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deliberately manipulated the February 25 presidential election in favor of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the petitioners, INEC failed to provide evidence and prove beyond reasonable doubt how it arrived at the conclusion that APC and Tinubu emerged as winners. They urged the court not to overlook the constitutional violations during the disputed election and requested that the purported return of Tinubu and the APC be declared invalid and null.
In their joint final address filed on July 23, the petitioners accused INEC of non-compliance with the law by denying them certified copies of the ‘top copies (Electoral operations’ copies’) of the Forms EC8A in the polling units, as required by the regulations and guidelines.
Peter Obi further argued that based on the unchallenged evidence he presented, he emerged as the winner in 13 states, including Rivers, Benue, and the FCT.
The petitioners also alleged that INEC mischievously downloaded 18,088 blurred polling unit results, which comprised blank A4 papers and photographs of unknown persons, instead of the certified presidential results.
These blurred copies of polling unit results were reportedly obtained from 168 local government areas in 14 states of the federation, raising concerns about the authenticity of the election outcome.
The petitioners expressed astonishment that INEC officials issued and certified blank pages and pictures as true copies of election results, and they raised questions about the credibility and transparency of the electoral process.
