Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide, has claimed that a forensic analysis of the presidential election results held on February 25, 2023, has revealed that overvoting occurred in more than 10,000 Polling Units (PUs).
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that according to Omokri, this accounts for almost 8% of all the polling units where the alleged overvoting occurred.
In a statement titled ‘An Action Call To Save Democracy in Nigeria,’ issued on Saturday, the social activist called on the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) to uphold the law as enshrined in Nigeria’s Electoral Act of 2022. He urged Nigerians to join millions of others in speaking out against miscarriages of justice by the Nigerian Judiciary.
Omokri went on to allege that the over voting was made possible due to manual accreditation and transmission of votes, instead of the legally required electronic accreditation via Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines. He also noted that the eyes of the world are on Nigeria and called on the country’s leaders to ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
He said: “On February 25, 2023, Nigeria held Presidential elections in which the ruling party won. However, forensic analysis of the result of the election showed that there were over voting in more than 10,000 polling units. This represents almost eight percent of all PUs.
“Evidence has been presented by both the Peoples Democratic Party, and the Labour Party at the Presidential Election Petition Court that the ruling party candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was declared President-elect based largely on the votes he amassed in some of these per cent of polling units where over voting occurred.
“Now this is very convenient, and too coincidental. And it is also unlawful.”
According to Omokri, those results should have been invalidated under Section 47 (3) of Nigeria’s Electoral Act and the elections rescheduled for a later date when the flaws with the machines would have been fixed.
Section 47(3) states: “Where a smart card reader or any other technological device deployed for accreditation of voters fails to function in any unit and a fresh card reader or technological device is not deployed, the election in that unit shall be cancelled and another election shall be scheduled.”
Omokri recounted that on November 25, 2022, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kayode Ariwoola, who established the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, praised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in a video.
He claimed that as a result of those remarks, millions of Nigerians have lost faith in his ability to lead a judiciary that delivers impartial justice.
“What I humbly ask of you reading this is for you to consider using your good offices, no matter how small you think it is, to add your voice to that of millions of Nigerians, and tell the Nigerian judiciary that the world is watching the PEPC and hopes it will abide by the provision of the law as enshrined in Nigeria’s Electoral Act of 2022,” Omokri said.
