A Nigerian court is hearing a challenge to the February 25, 2023, presidential election. Amid the ongoing legal battle, some claims recently surfaced online, saying that the court hearing ordered the arrest of Nigeria’s electoral commission chairperson, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, over deleted election results. It has been discovered that there is no evidence that the court has ordered the arrest of the head of the country’s electoral commission.
Months after the conclusion of the 2023 presidential election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, and presidential candidates continue their legal battle over the poll’s outcome.
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But a post shared on Facebook — according to Africa Check — a fact-checking organisation, claims that the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), Abuja, has ordered the arrest of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the commission’s chairman.
No evidence court ordered the arrest of the INEC chairman over deleted election results.
The poster claimed that the order for the arrest of Prof. Yakubu was for deleting election results from the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).
The post, dated Friday, June 23, 2023, reads:
“BREAKING!! Court ordered the arrest of INEC chairman for deleting Results on the BVAS.”
The video accompanying the post shows the owner of the Facebook page, who attributes the claim to ‘Arise TV news’.
The clip has garnered over 16,000 views as of the time the fact-check was carried out.
Africa Check found the same claim on Facebook here, here, and here.
But did the court order the arrest of the INEC chairman? The fact has emerged.
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No evidence of the INEC boss’ arrest or order of detention.
There are reports in the media that a witness presented by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) told the court that INEC had deliberately deleted the presidential election results from the BVAS machines.
The witness represents the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
No reference can be found on any credible media platform to support the claim that Prof. Yakubu was arrested on the court’s orders hearing the litigations related to the 2023 presidential poll. There are also no reports showing that the court called for him to be arrested.
It is, therefore, a bogus claim by those spreading the supposed news.
Africa Check concluded that there is no evidence of the INEC chairperson’s arrest.
INEC chairman admitted to declaring blurred results at the tribunal. Fact emerges
Earlier, MEDIANGR.com.ng reported that a Twitter user, Austin Nwabufo (@AustinNwabufo), on Thursday, June 15, claimed that Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), testified in court on the said date and admitted declaring blurred results in thousands of polling units.
Nwabufo also claimed that Prof. Yakubu said 20,000 results were missing, adding that the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, was an accomplice in the alleged electoral fraud.
Over 130,000 people have seen the tweet by Nwabufo and has 730+ retweets already.
