Atiku accuses INEC of installing 3rd party device to switch results for Tinubu

Atiku Abubakar, a candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of installing a third-party device that was allegedly used to intercept and alter the results of the February 25 presidential election in favor of Bola Tinubu, a candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a 66-page petition, Atiku further alleged that INEC had relocated its in-house ICT expert, Mr. Chidi Nwafor, ahead of the election and replaced him with an IT Consultant who assisted it in setting up the third-party mechanism. The petition was filed before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

According to Atiku, the said IT Consultant, Mr Suleiman Farouk, ensured that the device was intermediated between the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and the IRev Portal, known as Device Management System, DMS.

He told the court that the DMS was the software that allowed INEC’s IT Security Consultant, Mr. Farouk, to remotely control, monitor and filter data transmitted from the BVAS devices to the electronic collation system and the IRev platform.

“The 1st Respondent (INEC) engaged an appointee of the 2nd Respondent (INEC) to man and oversee the sensitive ICT Department of the 1st Respondent for the purpose of the Election.