PEPT 2023: All You Need to Know About June 21st Proceedings

If you’re interested in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) proceedings, you might be wondering what happened on June 21st 2023. In this blog post, we’ll give you a summary of the key events and testimonies that took place on that day.

What is the PEPT?

The PEPT is a special court that hears petitions challenging the outcome of presidential elections in Nigeria.

The current petition was filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, HE Peter Obi against President Bola Tinubu, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The LP is alleging that the election was marred by irregularities, fraud, and violence, and that the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were not authentic. The LP is seeking to nullify the election and declare Obi as the winner.

The PEPT is composed of five judges, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani. The proceedings began on May 15th 2023 and are expected to last for 180 days.

RELATED: What Happened at the PEPT on June 19, 2023, Day 15

What happened on June 21st 2023?

The PEPT proceedings on June 21st 2023 started at about 2:35 pm and ended at about 5:45 pm.

Here are some of the highlights:

The LP’s legal team was led by Dr Livy Uzoukwu and proceedings by PIN Ikwueto SAN, Ikechukwu Ezechukwu SAN & Peter Afuba SAN

HE Peter Obi was absent but Ladi Iliya represented LP (2nd Petitioner)

Three witnesses were called up by the LP: Chubuike Ugboke (PW8), Onoja Loko Sunday (PW9), and Kephas Iya (PW10)

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Chubuike Ugboke is an expert witness and cyber security expert. He testified that he analyzed the metadata of some documents obtained from INEC and found evidence of tampering and manipulation.

He also presented a document titled ‘Alleged Plot to Abandon Online Transmission of Polling Units Results’ signed by Festus Okoye, an INEC official.

The respondents objected to his testimony and documents, saying they were served to them only this morning.

The court agreed to carry on with his examination in chief but postponed his cross examination till tomorrow.

Onoja Loko Sunday is a staff of Women/Child Rescue Initiative, a non-profit organization.

He testified that he was an election observer and that he witnessed voting and counting at some polling units in Benue State.

He said that LP won at those units but the results were not uploaded online from the polling units but taken to the collation centre.

He was cross examined by the respondents who questioned his credibility and impartiality.

Kephas Iya is a civil servant who worked as an INEC adhoc staff during the election.

He testified that he supervised 24 units in Malagali ward in Adamawa State along with another INEC staff named Suleiman Mustapha.

He said that results were not transmitted from the polling units as instructed by INEC. He was cross examined by the respondents who challenged his claims and asked him to produce evidence.

Photo source: Channels TV

The LP also tendered several documents as evidence, including:

– A list certified by INEC containing the total number of registered voters and PVCs collected

– Certified True Copies of Certificate of Compliance in Edo State

– CTCs of supplementary iREV documents for Benue State

– CTCs of iREV report for 3 LGAs in Benue State

– CTCs of supplementary iREV documents for 2 LGAs in Cross Rivers State

– CTCs of iREV reports for 12 LGAs in Lagos State

– CTC of iREV report for 1 LGA in Gombe State

– All these documents were objected to by the respondents but admitted by the court.

What’s next?

The PEPT proceedings will resume tomorrow, June 22nd 2023, by 2 pm. The LP is expected to continue presenting its witnesses and evidence. You can follow our live updates on Twitter

We hope you found this blog post helpful and informative. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or contact us via email or phone.

Source: @MissPearls

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