INEC, the beneficiary (Adeleke) and the PDP, could not even agree on the BVAS reports they presented before the Tribunal.
While I agree with INEC and most Nigerians that nothing is wrong with BVAS, I however make bold to say that a lot is wrong with the operators, especially those who came up with the idea of synchronisation. For me, all stakeholders interested in deepening our electoral system and democracy must devise means to tackle the synchronisation of BVAS report before the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Contrary to the claims of the interim governor and his cohorts, three of the judges agreed on the fact that he forged his certificate, while two concurred that there was indeed over-voting in the 16 July governorship election. And in accordance with the Electoral Act, the invalid votes were separated from the valid ones and Oyetola was declared as the validly-elected governor of Osun State.
The three justices of the Tribunal went further to hold that “clear reading of the above reproduced section of the Criminal Code and exhibit EC9 reproduced above reveals that EC9 tells a lie about itself. See“In that regard, forgery of the said documents presented by the 2nd Respondent to 1st Respondent has been proved.
But let’s go back to the issue of over-voting. The Electoral Act is clear. To make a return as to the announcement of the results of election, the presiding officer must take into account what the BVAS transmitted, which is in the back end. In this instance, Senator Ademola Adeleke was declared winner of that election by the INEC on 17 July based on the figures the BVAS transmitted. It was these figures the APC and Oyetola applied for and got from the INEC.
“Under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, I conducted the forensic analysis of BVAS machines. I then analysed the result with form EC8A series. My report didn’t determine who won or lost. I only gave the figures. I observed over-voting in six polling units. I was paid for the job. But it does not affect the figures and facts in my report”, he said.
Again, the INEC witness, who testified before the Tribunal, did not disown the BVAS report given to Oyetola and APC and she admitted under cross-examination that there was indeed over-voting in that election. Take note that apart from the BVAS report obtained by the APC and Oyetola, all other BVAS reports were generated after the petition had been filed and served. Therefore, it was easy to conclude that they were products of afterthought.
The Tribunal further said: “In other words, the defenses of the respondents are tainted with fundamental flaws, irreconcilable and unreliable, incapable of defeating the credible evidence tendered by the petitioners in respect of the 744 polling units where over voting has been established.”
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