Post misleadingly claims Nigeria’s electoral body failed to call witness in case contesting poll result

A Facebook post claims that a witness set to testify on behalf of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a court petition contesting the February presidential polls failed to show and was “on the run”. But the claim is misleading: the Court of Appeal is currently hearing two separate petitions filed by opposition parties. INEC presented a witness on the first day of its defence in one of the matters. The second case, taking place simultaneously, was adjourned for a day, briefly delaying scheduled testimony from INEC witnesses.

“INEC witness On The Run Fail to Show up Peter Obi is Coming nothing can stop him (sic),” reads a Facebook post published on July 3, 2023.

Shared more than 870 times, the post also features a nine-minute video with a narrator.

It was published by a supporter of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. AFP Fact Check previously debunked another post from the same Facebook account.

Photos of Obi and INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu appear at the bottom left and right of the nine-minute clip respectively.

“Not surprising, they (INEC) failed to produce any witness,” the narrator claims 24 seconds into the footage.

Obi, Tinubu, and 16 other candidates contested the presidential election on February 25, 2023. INEC declared Tinubu the winner.

However, Obi and fellow opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) argued that widespread irregularities and rigging marred the election. Both men separately petitioned an election tribunal to overturn the results, with each claiming to have won (archived here).

INEC has denied any illegal activity, although the commission acknowledged some technical problems with its voting machines.

But the claim that the commission failed to call any witness on the day it began to lead evidence is misleading.

Hearing adjourned

A keyword search produced links to media reports confirming INEC presented a witness on July 3, 2023 — the day it opened and closed its defence in the petition filed by Abubakar.

Local broadcaster African Independent Television published a video on its YouTube channel of a lawyer representing Abubakar confirming the appearance of an INEC witness on the day (archived here).

Tinubu’s media office identified the “lone witness” as Lawrence Bayode in a statement published on its presidential campaign website (archived here). Abubakar’s legal team cross-examined Bayode on July 3, 2023.

Furthermore, the court hearing the petitions said on Twitter that INEC called a witness to testify in the same matter (archived here).

However, the electoral body did not call any of its three witnesses on the first day of its defence – also July 3, 2023 – in the petition filed by Obi (archived here).

The hearing was adjourned for the following day when INEC continued with testimony from one of its witnesses, the court tweeted (archived here).

INEC has concluded its evidence in both petitions (archived here and here).