All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council has petitioned the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Service, DSS, demanding for the arrest and prosecution of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, leaders for hacking into the server of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In a petition dated Monday, March 25, 2019, and signed by the Director, Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, SAN, the APC told the security chiefs that the PDP claimed in their petition to the Election tribunal that obtained the true result of the presidential election from INEC server which indicated that Atiku Abubakar won the election with over 1.6 million votes.
The APC queried how PDP got access to INEC server when the electoral umpire did not officially give them access to the server.
While dismissing the PDP figures as fake, the APC alleged that the opposition party must have hacked into INEC server through “criminal conspiracy” of INEC workers.
Keyamo declared that it now apparent why the PDP was insistence on President Muhammadu signing the Electoral (Amendment) Bill containing the provision for electronic transmission of results to INEC’s central computer system because they have a sinister motive.
The party alleged that barely 24 hours after the February 26 postponement of the presidential election, a fake result similar to the one PDP submitted to the Election tribunal went viral and wondered how the result of a postponed election was generated.
“It would be recalled that an Electoral (Amendment) Bill containing the provision for electronic transmission of results to INEC’s central computer system (otherwise called “server”) was sent to President Muhammadu Buhari by the National Assembly for assent late in the year 2018.
“Despite the shortness of time before the Presidential/National Assembly Elections, and the lack of time to first simulate the process to ensure its effectiveness in a country like ours with problems of effective networks in many rural areas and constant failure of technological devices, together with its violation of the time frame of such laws as provided for in regional and continental Protocols in terms of the length of time required for the passage of such laws before any major election, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party was hell-bent that the President should sign the Bill into law. That was the first indication that the main opposition was up to something sinister regarding the electronic transmission of the results.
“Upon the last-minute postponement of the February 16, 2019 Presidential/National Assembly Elections, the nation was shocked to see already prepared presidential elections results floating around in the cyber space just less than 24 hours after the postponed election was originally billed to hold!
“The fake results had details of the scores of the candidates of the major parties. Of course, the fake results gave victory to the candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, even when elections did not hold.
“The only conclusion one can draw from the above is that the PDP had prepared those results which were to be smuggled into the INEC Server.
“However, the sudden postponement of the election scuttled that evil plan, but it was too late to restrain the release of the fake results.”
“The proper elections were held on February 23, 2019 and President Muhammadu Buhari declared the winner. Despite the approval of the elections as credible by nearly all local and international observers (except some few known PDP acolytes masquerading as local observers), the PDP cried foul and made a shocking claim: it claimed that from purported results it obtained from INEC’s server, it has so-called proof that its candidate won the election by about 1.6million votes.
“Shockingly and coincidentally, this margin was about the same margin by which it also purportedly ‘won’ by the fake results released just hours after the postponement of the February 16, 2019 Presidential/National Assembly Elections.
“As if this expensive joke was not enough, the PDP and its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have gone ahead to file an Election Petition against the clear victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and have repeated the same outlandish claim of having access to INEC’s server which shows that they have some purported results at their disposal giving ‘victory’ to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“Sirs, we wish you to note that INEC’s server is the back end of electronic records of INEC. This is not INEC’s website but its server!
“Although, the purported results have been conclusively shown by public engagements to be false and even ridiculous, especially as the total number of accredited voters is exactly equivalent to the purported votes of the APC and PDP candidates, this criminal claim of the PDP has revealed a few things.
“It is now clear that some criminally-minded PDP operatives have access to the INEC server to be able to smuggle in fake results into that server.
“The only means by which they could have access to the INEC server is by the criminal hacking of the server or through the criminal conspiracy of some INEC officials.
“The APC Presidential Campaign Council hereby prays that the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services use your good offices to investigate the hacking of and/or illegal tampering with the INEC server by the PDP. The leadership of the PDP must be invited, interrogated and investigated and those identified as perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted.”
Reacting to the allegation, the PDP said the ruling party is jittery over the Election Petition and advised it to stop their unnecessary fabrications, smear campaign and prepare to face its legal team at the election tribunal.
The party said through its Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan that President Buhari is overweighed by the burden of illegitimacy, following overwhelming evidence before the tribunal that he stole the Presidential mandate, hence this lame attempt at blackmailing the tribunal by engaging in clear acts of subjudice.
The PDP declared that the facts and issues touching on the INEC server are already within the public domain and Nigerians are already at home with them.
“By resorting to shadow-boxing outside the tribunal, President Buhari and the APC have shown that they have no defence to present to the court against PDP’s submission that they stole our mandate.
“It is even more appalling that Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a member of Buhari’s legal team, who should know better, would engage in this act of subjudice designed to distort facts already known to Nigerians that our presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, clearly won the February 23 presidential election.
“Since it has become clear that President Buhari has no defense to present to the court, we counsel him to save the nation further stress by surrendering our mandate, which was freely given by majority of Nigerians to Atiku Abubakar”, it added.
In a petition dated Monday, March 25, 2019, and signed by the Director, Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, SAN, the APC told the security chiefs that the PDP claimed in their petition to the Election tribunal that obtained the true result of the presidential election from INEC server which indicated that Atiku Abubakar won the election with over 1.6 million votes.
The APC queried how PDP got access to INEC server when the electoral umpire did not officially give them access to the server.
While dismissing the PDP figures as fake, the APC alleged that the opposition party must have hacked into INEC server through “criminal conspiracy” of INEC workers.
Keyamo declared that it now apparent why the PDP was insistence on President Muhammadu signing the Electoral (Amendment) Bill containing the provision for electronic transmission of results to INEC’s central computer system because they have a sinister motive.
The party alleged that barely 24 hours after the February 26 postponement of the presidential election, a fake result similar to the one PDP submitted to the Election tribunal went viral and wondered how the result of a postponed election was generated.
“It would be recalled that an Electoral (Amendment) Bill containing the provision for electronic transmission of results to INEC’s central computer system (otherwise called “server”) was sent to President Muhammadu Buhari by the National Assembly for assent late in the year 2018.
“Despite the shortness of time before the Presidential/National Assembly Elections, and the lack of time to first simulate the process to ensure its effectiveness in a country like ours with problems of effective networks in many rural areas and constant failure of technological devices, together with its violation of the time frame of such laws as provided for in regional and continental Protocols in terms of the length of time required for the passage of such laws before any major election, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party was hell-bent that the President should sign the Bill into law. That was the first indication that the main opposition was up to something sinister regarding the electronic transmission of the results.
“Upon the last-minute postponement of the February 16, 2019 Presidential/National Assembly Elections, the nation was shocked to see already prepared presidential elections results floating around in the cyber space just less than 24 hours after the postponed election was originally billed to hold!
“The fake results had details of the scores of the candidates of the major parties. Of course, the fake results gave victory to the candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, even when elections did not hold.
“The only conclusion one can draw from the above is that the PDP had prepared those results which were to be smuggled into the INEC Server.
“However, the sudden postponement of the election scuttled that evil plan, but it was too late to restrain the release of the fake results.”
“The proper elections were held on February 23, 2019 and President Muhammadu Buhari declared the winner. Despite the approval of the elections as credible by nearly all local and international observers (except some few known PDP acolytes masquerading as local observers), the PDP cried foul and made a shocking claim: it claimed that from purported results it obtained from INEC’s server, it has so-called proof that its candidate won the election by about 1.6million votes.
“Shockingly and coincidentally, this margin was about the same margin by which it also purportedly ‘won’ by the fake results released just hours after the postponement of the February 16, 2019 Presidential/National Assembly Elections.
“As if this expensive joke was not enough, the PDP and its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have gone ahead to file an Election Petition against the clear victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and have repeated the same outlandish claim of having access to INEC’s server which shows that they have some purported results at their disposal giving ‘victory’ to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“Sirs, we wish you to note that INEC’s server is the back end of electronic records of INEC. This is not INEC’s website but its server!
“Although, the purported results have been conclusively shown by public engagements to be false and even ridiculous, especially as the total number of accredited voters is exactly equivalent to the purported votes of the APC and PDP candidates, this criminal claim of the PDP has revealed a few things.
“It is now clear that some criminally-minded PDP operatives have access to the INEC server to be able to smuggle in fake results into that server.
“The only means by which they could have access to the INEC server is by the criminal hacking of the server or through the criminal conspiracy of some INEC officials.
“The APC Presidential Campaign Council hereby prays that the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services use your good offices to investigate the hacking of and/or illegal tampering with the INEC server by the PDP. The leadership of the PDP must be invited, interrogated and investigated and those identified as perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted.”
Reacting to the allegation, the PDP said the ruling party is jittery over the Election Petition and advised it to stop their unnecessary fabrications, smear campaign and prepare to face its legal team at the election tribunal.
The party said through its Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan that President Buhari is overweighed by the burden of illegitimacy, following overwhelming evidence before the tribunal that he stole the Presidential mandate, hence this lame attempt at blackmailing the tribunal by engaging in clear acts of subjudice.
The PDP declared that the facts and issues touching on the INEC server are already within the public domain and Nigerians are already at home with them.
“By resorting to shadow-boxing outside the tribunal, President Buhari and the APC have shown that they have no defence to present to the court against PDP’s submission that they stole our mandate.
“It is even more appalling that Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a member of Buhari’s legal team, who should know better, would engage in this act of subjudice designed to distort facts already known to Nigerians that our presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, clearly won the February 23 presidential election.
“Since it has become clear that President Buhari has no defense to present to the court, we counsel him to save the nation further stress by surrendering our mandate, which was freely given by majority of Nigerians to Atiku Abubakar”, it added.