The Presidential Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja yesterday admitted in evidence a bundle of exhibits containing the total number of Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, collected in 32 states of the federation before the 2023 general elections.
Equally admitted in evidence by the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel, was a bundle of documents that contained the total number of registered voters in the states.
The exhibits were brought before the court by the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, who alleged that the presidential election held on February 25, was rigged in favour of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Though Obi’s legal team was led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, the exhibits were, however, tendered through another senior lawyer in the team, Mr. Peter Afuba, SAN.
The petitioners told the court that the exhibits were duly certified by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
However, the electoral body, through its lawyer, Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, said it was vehemently opposed to the admissibility of the exhibits in evidence.
President Tinubu and the APC, who are the 2nd and 3rd Respondents in the matter, also challenged the admission of the exhibits in evidence.
All the Respondents said they would adduce reasons behind their objections in their final written address.
Despite the objections, the court admitted in evidence documents on the total number of PVCs from the 32 states and marked them as exhibits PCN 1 to PCN 32.
The court equally admitted in evidence certified true copy of a certificate of compliance on exhibits the petitioners earlier tendered in respect of Edo State.
Other electoral documents the court entered in evidence after they were tendered by the petitioners, were certified copy of supplementary IReV reports for three Local Government Areas, LGAs, of Benue State; two LGAs of Cross River State; 12 LGAs of Lagos State, as well as one LGA in Gombe State.
(Courtesy, excluding headline, Vanguard)
