Cybersecurity expert tells PEPC Amazon Web obligated to work optimally
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Chuibuike Ugwuoke, a cybersecurity expert, has testified at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that Amazon Web Service (AWS) could not have shut down during the presidential ballot because the service provider ensures its optimal performance.
He testified as a witness for Peter Obi and his Labour Party (LP), both of who are challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ugwuoke was led in evidence by the petitioners’ counsel, Patrick Ikweato, SAN.
The INEC hired AWS to provide technical support during the general election in February and March.
Under cross-examination by INEC counsel Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN the witness averred AWS has a shared responsibility model between the service provider and clients.
He said it is the responsibility of AWS to guarantee the security of its customers, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
Ugwuoke explained there are three components of shared responsibility between the company and the INEC – confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
He insisted “availability” remains the responsibility of AWS – and “it means it will always be available. It won’t shut down. This is the responsibility of AWS. The cloud trail will explain the availability of AWS infrastructure.”
Under cross-examination by APC counsel Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Ugwuoke also affirmed:
- There is a Service Level Agreement between the service provider (AWS) and client (INEC) contained in the details of security features.
- Whereas election results ought to be domiciled on the INEC Results Viewing portal (IReV), what is seen in some uploads are “incorrect uploads such as a picture of a book rather than a result.”
- The chances of errors being detected after the deployment of an application are negligible.
- Errors are more likely to be detected at the testing stage of an application.
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Amazon Web in PEPC refutes INEC’s claim of tech glitches during presidential election
A former employee of AWS, Mpeh Clarita Ogar had refuted claim by the INEC that there were technical glitches during the presidential election which hindered live transmission of results from polling units to its IReV.
Ogar testified on Monday at the PEPC as the seventh witness (PW7) in the petition filed by Obi and the LP) to overturn the election of Tinubu.
Ogar, led in evidence by a member of the petitioners’ legal team, Patrick Ikweto, SAN, told the court AWS did not record any technical glitch in Nigeria on February 25, the day of the presidential election, based on open source evidence she collated.
The INEC had blamed technical glitches for its failure to electronically transmit results live to its IReV using Bimodal Voter Accreditation (BVAS) machines.
Court admits documents in evidence
Ogar, who identified herself as a cloud engineer and architect, tendered six volumes of reports from 33 regions of the world where AWS host its servers – North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe.
She reiterated there was no technical glitch across all six continents housing AWS cloud services on February 25, 2023.
She adopted the witness statement she made on oath on June 19 and also tendered in evidence a copy of her curriculum vitae (CV) and her appointment letter.
All the respondents in the petition – the INEC, Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the APC – opposed Ogar’s evidence but the PEPC, chaired by Justice Haruna Tsammani, admitted all the documents as exhibits.
Also on Monday, the petitioners accused the INEC of refusing to give provide them with some electoral documents needed to establish their allegation that the vote was rigged in favour of Tinubu.
Their counsel, Jubril Okutekpa, SAN, lamented that despite several letters written to the INEC it refused to provide the exhibits.
“This segment is to formally bring to the notice of the court, the excruciating experience we are having from INEC.
“We have done everything humanly possible, including persuasion and letter writing. We decided to seek the help of the court,” Okutekpa said.
He also told the court the petitioners only received a few copies of IReV reports from some councils in Lagos.
“We have consistently written letters to INEC, including the one I wrote personally on May 20 detailing all the documents we wanted.
“This proceedings is time bound. We have paid for the documents and INEC is supposed to give us the documents that we need.
“We are crying to your lordships as we have nowhere (else) to run to. It appears that INEC is deliberately frustrating the proceedings.”
But INEC counsel Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN denied the claim, adding the petitioners never raised such an issue with him before the commencement of proceedings.
He said there was no reason to deny the petitioners any document they want, once they follow the procedure for obtaining it from the INEC.
“They didn’t want to follow the procedures. I am taken aback by submissions of Okutekpa. We can’t sit here and be hearing lamentation that is unfounded,” Mahmoud insisted.
However, another litigant, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has also lamented the INEC is filibustering his effort to obtain INEC documents to buttress his own petition to overturn Tinubu’s election.
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