Three subpoenaed witnesses of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP on Monday informed the court that they only had problems uploading presidential election results.
The witnesses, who were presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the refusal of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to transmit the presidential election results on Election Day frustrated their jobs.
They however, submitted that the results of the Senate and the House of Representatives were transmitted unhindered and that the problems of technical hitches arose at the point of transmitting only the presidential poll results.
While lead in evidence in chief, by the counsel to Atiku, Eyitayo Jegede SAN, the witnesses admitted that the election process went well until the period the BVAS machines refused to work.
The three witnesses are Janet Nuhu Turaki, Christopher Bulus Ardo and Victoria Sani, served as INEC’S Presiding Officers at Yobe, Bauchi and Katsina States respectfully.
In her testimony, prosecution witness 23(PW23), Janet Turaki said that the accreditation of voters was successful but that the process became frustrating at the point of uploading of the election results.
She emphasized that while results of the National Assembly election sailed smoothly, that of the presidential poll failed and refused to work throughout the day.
The witness however informed the Court that the collated results in the forms EC8A were signed by the party agents and herself as INEC’S Presiding Officer.
In his own evidence, Christopher Bulus Ardo, PW24 told the Court that he felt unfulfilled in his assignment with INEC on the election because he could not transmit the presidential election results as required by law.
In her own, Victoria Sani PW25, said she could not remember the candidate that won the presidential poll in Katsina state but insisted that all did not end well due to inability to transmit the presidential aspect of the February 25 election.
Meanwhile, the Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani has fixed June 20 for continuation of hearing in the petition.
