Buhari, APC accuse PDP of illegal access to INEC server

…Petitions Police, DSS. Want PDP leaders investigated, those identified as perpetrators arrested, prosecuted

…You’re jittery, PDP tells President, APC

Andrew Orolua, Doosuur Iwambe and Tunde Opalana, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC Presidential Campaign Council have accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of having illegal access to the computer server of the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) to be able to smuggle in fake results into the server.

In a petition addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed and the Director General of the State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi, the spokesperson of President Buhari’s campaign organisation, Festus Keyamo, SAN, called for the invitation, interrogation and prosecution of the PDP officials.

The petition titled, ‘’Petition to invite, Interrogate and Investigate the PDP leadership over its admittance of illegal access to INEC’s server’’ claimed that Nigerians were shocked to see already prepared presidential election results less than 24 hours after the poll was postponed by the electoral umpire.

According to the ruling party, the fake results gave victory to Atiku Abubakar when elections did not hold.

The statement read in part: ”We wish you to note that INEC’s server is the back end of electronic records of INEC.

”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. Opposition is healthy in a democracy but it is not a license for criminality and illegality.

”A country governed by laws cannot be blackmailed or cowed into indolence by the perceived underdog status of the opposition so as to condone such a blatant criminal claim by the PDP of having illegal access to INEC’s server.

”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.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) allegation of its hacking into the official server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as total fabrication and smear campaign.

Rather than engaging in falsehood and appeal to pity, the party asked Buhari and the APC to prepare to face PDP legal team at the Presidential election tribunal.

It said 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 in a reaction by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated 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 defence 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”, said the PDP.