From That Supreme Court Decision On Adeleke, I Knew It Was Going To Impact PEPT Judgment- Jide Ojo
An International Election Observer, Jide Ojo has alleged that with the Supreme Court’s stance on upholding the election of Senator Ademola Adeleke influenced the judgment of the Presidential Election Tribunal to validate the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He explained that the Supreme Court decision in Osun State election clearly shows that the law did not provide a timeframe for the uploading of results. He stated further that the BVAS was highlighted by the Supreme Court as the only means of justifying overvoting.
In an interview with AIT news, he said, ”In the case of Senator Ademola Adeleke in Osun, it was a split decision at the tribunal. But it was the minority decision that was upheld at the appellant court. Because the Court of first instance nullified the election of Ademola Adeleke. And it was central that they were arguing over the issue of about 744 polling units and issues around BVAS and uploading of results.
From that Supreme Court decision on Adeleke, I knew it was going to impact the Presidential election petition judgment. Because the Supreme Court decision was very emphatic on the role of Bvas and what quantum of weight of evidence that you want to put on the use of Bvas as a means of resolving dispute transmission or non-uploading of the results in a timely manner. Because the law did not say under 10 hours, or under 24 hours results must be uploaded. INEC said oh, our IREV had glitches. Assuming without considering that was the time position, now on the second day you start to upload, did the law give a time frame for the uploading of this result? The answer is No.”