The ongoing Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) witnessed a significant development on June 19th as a representative from Amazon Web Services (AWS) took the stand. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had engaged AWS to provide technical support during the general elections. Mpeh Clarita Ogar, the company’s representative, appeared as the 7th witness in a petition filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a surprising turn of events, the AWS witness contradicted INEC’s claims. Led in evidence by Mr. Patrick Ikweto, SAN, a member of Mr. Obi’s legal team, the witness stated that no technical glitches were recorded in the country on the day of the presidential election, February 25. This directly challenges INEC’s assertion that technical glitches prevented the electronic transmission of election results to its viewing portal using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation (BVAS) machines.

Identifying herself as a cloud engineer and an Architect, the witness presented six volumes of reports from 33 regions worldwide where AWS hosts its servers. These regions include North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe. She unequivocally affirmed that no technical glitches occurred across any of these continents housing AWS cloud services on the aforementioned date.

Supporting her testimony, the witness submitted her curriculum vitae, appointment letter, and a sworn statement made on June 19 as evidence before the court. Despite opposition from all the Respondents, a five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani admitted all the documents as exhibits in the case, underscoring their significance.

Responding to the development, the Respondents named in the petition, including INEC, President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the APC, expressed their disagreement with the witness’s evidence. The court adjourned the proceedings until Tuesday to allow the Respondents an opportunity to cross-examine the AWS representative.

The outcome of this testimony could have far-reaching implications for the ongoing election petition, shaping the narrative surrounding the technical aspects of the election process and potentially influencing the court’s decision. The nation awaits further developments as the trial continues.