ONOJA ACCUSES INEC OF FRUSTRATING PETITION AGAINST MARK

By NBF News

MAKURDI-Benue South senatorial candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, at the last April election, General Lawrence Onoja (rtd), yesterday, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of frustrating his petition against the election of  Senate President, Senator David Mark, at the Election Tribunal.

Onoja said in Makurdi that INEC had shown bias  in favour of Senator  Mark, adding that the commission was supporting Mark by delaying his petition by failing to comply with the tribunal's order directing it to make available, biometric data and other electoral materials for his inspection.

Onoja's counsel, Ocha Ulegede, said INEC should have released the ballot papers for forensic scanning by the applicant.

According to him, INEC had invited them for inspection of the electoral  materials at the Makurdi office as directed by the tribunal, but that when they got to the office  they were  turned away on the grounds that INEC external solicitor, Mr. E.P. Ochokpa, was out of town.

Ulegede contended that the action of the electoral body was a ploy to frustrate the matter, which he said was repugnant to natural justice.

He said: ''We protested the action because Ochokpa is not the only INEC lawyer. The tribunal's directive was given in his presence where he also actively participated in the motion with the rest of the counsel.'