INEC dragged to court over e-voting

A US-based medical professional, Adah Edache Obekpa and Renaissance Network Africa (RNA) have filed a lawsuit at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Federal Government of Nigeria over alleged suppression of their contributions to the introduction of electronic voting (E-voting) in the country.

Obekpa and RNA claim to have proposed the e-voting system to INEC in 2010 and presented the “Renaissance I-voting Proposal for INEC” to then-INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega in October 2010.

“Our clients, Dr. Adah Edache Obekpa and Renaissance Network Africa (RNA), firmly believe in the rights of creators to benefit from and be recognised for their innovative contributions.

“They view INEC’s actions in circumventing their pioneering I-voting proposal as a violation of these fundamental rights.

“Our legal action seeks to protect not only our clients’ interests but also to uphold the principles of transparency, justice, and fair recognition for inventors and innovators.

“It is our belief that these values must be honored and defended in this matter,” a statement issued on Sunday by the innovator’s lawyers, Jonathan Akeme, said.

According to Obekpa and RNA, the I-voting proposal for INEC is the same in contents, features, design, and operation as the Biometric Verification System (BVAS) and INEC’s online result viewing portal (IReV).

They allege that the failure of the BVAS and IReV, as well as the lack of complete transparency in the just-concluded 2023 general elections, is a result of INEC’s refusal to adopt salient security features contained in the I-voting proposal submitted to the commission.