INEC’s Application to Court to Reconfigure BVAS Raises Integrity Questions

Tamarauemi Ebimini

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decision to approach the Court of Appeal in Abuja, for an order varying the permission the court had previously granted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) to inspect materials used by the commission in the conduct of the February 25 presidential election has elicited questions about the integrity of the recently held poll.

INEC said the request was predicated on the need to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used in the presidential election before deploying them for the March 11 governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls.

The presidential candidates of PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and LP, Peter Obi, had in their challenge of the outcome of the presidential election, recently, obtained the order of the court to inspect materials used in the conduct of the poll, including the BVAS.

The controversial poll has been rejected by the two leading opposition parties and had been criticised by international observers and civil society organisations.

The Court of Appeal presided by Justice Joseph Ikyegh had last Friday, while delivering ruling in two separate applications, permitted Atiku and Obi to inspect the said materials, which they intended to use in proving their allegations of non-compliance and rigging of the poll.

The appellate court, ruling in an ex parte application, permitted Atiku and Obi to inspect, “All the electoral materials used in the conduct of the election for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on February 25, 2023.”

The court also permitted Atiku and Obi to do electronic scanning and/or make photocopies of Voter’s Registration and ballot papers used in the presidential election.

In addition, both Atiku and Obi were by the order permitted to, “Carryout digital forensic inspection of BVAS machines used for the conduct of the February 25” presidential election.