The Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has granted the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, leave to tender the inspected electoral materials used for the conduct of the 2023 governorship election held in Kogi State on November 11, 2023.
The tribunal headed by Justice Birnin Kudu which gave the order on Wednesday.
It also ordered the staff of the first respondents, the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC), to be present in court to give evidence of its findings from the inspection of the electoral materials along with Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine.
The court also directed that the machines used and inspected in the election should be kept in the custody of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) FCT Command for safety.
It also fixed February 16, 2024 for pre – hearing or continuation.
The tribunal, then sitting in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital, on Saturday, November 25, 2023 ordered INEC to within 48 hours submit certified copies of electoral materials used on the November11 election in the state to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
It also directed the INEC to allow SDP’s forensic experts to examine some electoral materials.
The materials the INEC was ordered to submit, according to the tribunal, include the BVAS and result sheets for Adavi, Okene, Okehi, Ogori-Magongo, Ajaokuta, Lokoja, and Bassa local government areas.
