The Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday insisted that it had no electronic server being sought to be accessed and inspected by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate in the February 23, 2019 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The commission had earlier denied the existence of such server in its reply filed on April 10, 2019 to oppose Atiku and PDP’s petition pending before the five-man tribunal.
The petitioners are by their petition challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress at the last presidential election.
INEC, Buhari and the APC who are the respondents to the petition and to the petitioners’ application for access to the server used for the election, on Thursday, asked the Justice Mohammed Garba-led panel to dismiss the petitioners’ request.
The three respondents, through their respective counsels, reminded the tribunal that the Court of Appeal had, on May 6, 2019 (before the petition was filed on May 18), dismissed a similar application filed by the petitioners.
Represented at the Thursday’s proceedings by its lead counsel, Mr. Yunus Usman (SAN), INEC said the application by the petitioners amounted to asking the commission to produce what it did not have.
Urging the tribunal to dismiss the application, Usman said, “We attached as Exhibit 1, the enrolled order of this honourable court made on May 6, 2019 refusing all the prayers of the petitioners in this application.
“They said we should bring what we don’t have.”
