The lawyer representing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chairmanship candidate in Rijau Local Government, Umar Buda Abubakar, has accused the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission, NSIEC, of employing delaying tactics in releasing certified true copies of election materials needed to file a petition.
According to Barrister Emmanuel Egbonoje, a formal letter requesting the documents was submitted to NSIEC on November 11, but the commission has refused to release them, citing “security reasons”.
Egbonoje explained that NSIEC officials had initially promised to make the materials available over the weekend, but when he, along with the candidate, visited the office on November 15, they found only the secretary, who claimed he had no instructions to release the documents.
“We applied for the documents on November 11, exactly 10 days after the election. However, NSIEC officials claimed the materials were unavailable due to ‘security reasons’. This is shocking for documents that should normally be ready a few days after elections,” the lawyer stated.
He expressed disappointment that, during the post-election period, the commission’s office should be fully active and accessible to the public.
The lawyer warned that time is running out, with only 21 days left to submit their petition to the election tribunal, adding that they may be forced to approach the court to compel NSIEC to release the documents.
The PDP chairmanship candidate, Abubakar, further alleged that there was no real election in Rijau and that the delay in releasing the documents may be related to this.
“Our next line of action is to approach the court to compel NSIEC to release the documents,” he explained.
When contacted, the NSIEC Secretary, Malam Danjuma Bisallah, confirmed the receipt of the request and assured that the lawyer would be given the certified true copies, but said he is not authorised to issue them.
