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INEC Admits IReV Portal Experienced Challenges During 2023 Presidential Election

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has acknowledged that a glitch affected the seamless operation of the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) during the 2023 presidential election.

The electoral body primarily attributed the glitch to the intricate, sensitive, and critical nature of the systems, coupled with the genuine threat of malicious cyberattacks.

The IReV portal is one of the most significant innovations introduced by the commission before the 2023 General Elections to promote the integrity and transparency of the electoral process.

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As a public-facing website, the IReV portal shows the images of the original Polling Unit result sheets as recorded in Form EC8A.

INEC has, however, admitted that the IReV portal experienced challenges during the 2023 General Elections.

INEC revealed this in a document released on Friday, February 23, 2024, titled “Reports of the General Election”.

The 526-page long report was published by the commission on its website.

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The report partly read, “The challenge of uploading the PU presidential election results on the IReV after the presidential and NASS elections on 25th February 2023 was unique.

“As voting ended across the country and POs began the process of uploading the images of the PU result sheets of the elections for the various constituencies around 4:00 pm, the commission began to receive reports that attempts to upload presidential election result sheets were failing.

“Following these reports, the commission immediately engaged with its field officials for details in order to understand and trace the origin, source, scale and magnitude of the problem across the result management ecosystem to devise appropriate solutions.”

READ ALSO: INEC Releases 2023 General Elections Report

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Response to IReV glitch…

The electoral commission admitted there was a configuration error which was discovered when its technical expertise team embarked on resolving the server error. It added that the issue was only peculiar to the presidential election which was held on the same day as the national assembly elections.

“In the troubleshooting process, it was established that there was no issue in uploading the PU result sheets of the Senate and House of Representatives elections through the Election Result Modules.

“However, there was a problem with uploading the presidential election results to the system. Attempts to upload the results were generating internal server errors, which refer to a significant impairment that usually originates from within an application due to problems relating to configuration, permissions, or failure to create or access the application resources correctly.

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“Further interrogation of the Election Result Modules indicated that the system is encountering an unexpected configuration problem in mapping the presidential election results uploaded into the system to the participating Polling Units.

“Due to the complex, sensitive and critical nature of the systems and the real potential for malicious cyberattacks, the Commission immediately put in place several strict security and audit control measures to prevent any unfettered or elevated access to the Result Upload System.

“In the process of resolving the challenge, it was discovered that the backend system of the IReV was able to query and detect the base States for uploading the PU result sheets based on the mapping of all Senatorial District and Federal Constituency elections to the respective 36 States of the Federation and the FCT as established in the database structure deployed within the system.

“In configuring and mapping the election results for the presidential and NASS elections, the Commission created Four Hundred and Seventy (470) election types consisting of one presidential constituency covering the entire country, 109 Senatorial Districts and 360 Federal Constituencies. Each Senatorial District and Federal Constituency election on the database was mapped to their respective states.

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“However, the presidential election result is a single, countrywide constituency and therefore, does not belong to any one state.”

IReV glitch HTTP server error…
Explaining how the agency addressed the “server error” issue, the document further stated, “Consequently, while the uploads for the NASS elections succeeded as the application was able to identify the respective state and build the folder hierarchy for the results organisation process for the election, attempts to upload the presidential election results sheets, which does not belong to or mapped to any state on the database, failed.

“Instead, it returned an HTTP server error response. This failure is attributable to the inability of the application to create
and build a folder structure to organise the uploaded images of the result sheets of the presidential election.

READ ALSO: 10 Ways To Stay Safe During Flooding Emergencies

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“Having identified and established the source of the problem, the commission quickly created and deployed “Hotfixes” which are software updates for fixing a bug or any vulnerabilities in a system.

“The deployed hotfixes eventually resolved the HTTP error on the system and the first presidential election result sheet was successfully uploaded at 8.55pm on the 25th of February 2023.

“After the problem with the upload was resolved, the commission noticed a high volume of uploads on the queue. All results that were scanned but could not be uploaded due to the error were queued waiting to be automatically processed.

“Due to the large volume and high traffic from the queue, the system was running slower, even though it tried to scale up automatically to handle the unanticipated heavy traffic.

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“The density of the traffic that slowed the uploads was one issue. Another was that the offline queue required the BVAS devices to be switched on and connected to the internet for the upload.

“However, some of the POs had at the time left their PUs, and the devices had either been switched off or were out of internet coverage. Switched-off devices could not connect and upload the results sheets.

“The commission had to reach out to the POs of affected areas to switch on their systems and ensure internet connectivity
for the uploads to continue. This accounted for the delay, with some of the results coming in the next day.”

IReV glitch prompts improvement…
Meanwhile, the electoral commission also noted that the glitch experienced in uploading the scanned images of PU
presidential election result sheets on 25th February 2023 was due to the inherent complexity within the System, which was difficult to anticipate and mitigate.

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Notably, it insisted that there has been room for improvement.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: CBN May Increase Bureau De Change’s Share Capital To N2bn

“Thereafter, the commission has made improvements on the IReV and taken additional steps to build more resilience and undertook additional checks to ensure the stability and optimal operation and performance of the IReV portal.

“Additional quality assurance checks are now done to complement the end-to-end testing of the entire result upload ecosystem before the conduct of any election,” it added.

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IReV glitch does not affect result…
INEC also said the glitch did not in any way affect the outcome of the presidential election result.

“However, the glitch in the upload of the presidential results sheets to iREV did not affect the credibility of the election.

“Agents of political parties and security agents were given copies of polling station results after they were announced in public. The results were also displayed at polling units for scrutiny by voters.

“So when they were eventually uploaded, it was easy to compare them with the copies displayed at polling centres and given to party agents and party officials,” the report concluded.

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The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakub in the foreword of the report stated, “This report documents the major activities the Commission carried out in the preparation and conduct of the General Election, beginning from mid-2019.

“This early preparation was in keeping with what has become the Commission’s practice of long-range systematic planning
and execution of the country’s elections since 2010.”
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Porn Star Testifies Against Trump At Hush Money Trial

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The porn star at the heart of Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial, Stormy Daniels, testified on Tuesday about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former president in a hotel penthouse suite.

Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels on the eve of his 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, when the lurid story of marital infidelity could have sunk his campaign.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger announced “The people call Stormy Daniels,” as Trump, who is seeking to recapture the White House in November, sat at the defense table in the Manhattan courtroom flanked by his lawyers, AFP reports.

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What followed was detailed testimony about the sexual encounter Daniels said she had with Trump – his pajamas, his boxer shorts, the sexual position, that he did not wear a condom – all while the former president, sitting just feet away, stared on in silence, stony-faced.

Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, and his defense team sought, unsuccessfully, to have a mistrial declared.

READ ALSO: Biden Calls Trump Main Threat To US Democracy

The extraordinary courtroom face-off comes six months before election day when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden.

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Daniels walked prosecutors through her difficult childhood in Louisiana, a stint as a stripper and her eventually joining the adult film industry.

The 45-year-old, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe where she was employed as a greeter by X-rated movie company Wicked Entertainment.

Daniels said she was 27 at the time and Trump was “probably older than my father.”

She said a member of Trump’s security detail told her the real estate tycoon wanted to have dinner with her. She was reluctant but agreed after discussing it with her publicist.

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When she arrived at the penthouse where Trump was staying he emerged wearing “silk or satin pajamas which I immediately made fun of,” Daniels told the jury.

READ ALSO: Trump Urges Republicans To Kill Ukraine Aid Bill

“I said ‘Does Mr Hefner know you stole his pajamas?’” she said in a reference to the outfit favored by the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.

Trump changed clothes and they began talking about adult movies.

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“He was very interested in a lot of the business stuff,” Daniels said.

Trump, who was married at the time to his current wife, Melania, suggested Daniels be on his hit reality television show, “The Apprentice,” she said.

Daniels said she went to the bathroom at one point and when she emerged Trump was on the bed in boxer shorts and a T-shirt.

“It startled me,” she said. “The intention was pretty clear.”

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“I was not threatened verbally or physically,” Daniels said, although there was an “imbalance of power.”

She said they had brief sex on the bed “in missionary position” and Trump did not wear a condom.

I felt ashamed I didn’t stop it, didn’t say no,” Daniels said.

READ ALSO: Trump Indicted For Attempts To Overturn US 2020 Elections

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Daniels said she met with Trump again on several occasions but cut off contact when it became clear she would not appear on “The Apprentice.”

After Trump announced his candidacy for president, Daniels said her publicist suggested she could sell her story and put her in touch with Keith Davidson, a Hollywood lawyer who testified previously at the trial.

My motivation wasn’t money, it was to get the story out,” Daniels said.

She said she entered into a non-disclosure agreement in October 2016 on the eve of the presidential election negotiated by Davidson and Cohen for which she was paid $130,000.

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“I couldn’t tell my story, he couldn’t tell the story,” she said.

After a lunch break, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked Judge Juan Merchan to declare a mistrial, objecting to some of Daniels’ testimony, particularly her claim that she was threatened in 2011 by a man in a Las Vegas parking garage who allegedly warned her not to talk about Trump.

“It’s extremely prejudicial to insert safety concerns into a trial about business records,” Blanche said.

Merchan denied the motion, saying “I don’t think we have reached a point where a mistrial is in order.”

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Trump is under a partial gag order prohibiting him from publicly attacking witnesses, the jury or court staff.

Merchan has already fined him $10,000 for breaching the gag order and warned Trump he may face jail time for future violations.

 

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Naira Abuse: Trouble Looms As Group Petitions EFCC, Wants Edo APC Candidate Prosecuted

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The All Progressives Congress candidate in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, is at risk of being sentenced to six- months imprisonment in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 as a coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria accused him of abusing the Nigerian currency, the naira.

The group lodged the complaint with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Okpebholo in a petition dated May 2, 2024, and addressed to the chairman of the EFCC.

The petition was signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Victor Kalu, and National Secretary, Ali Abacha.

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The coalition claimed the senator is guilty of the offence of naira abuse and mutilation, citing the CBN Act of 2007, which declares such actions as punishable offences.

READ ALSO: Suspended Edo Lawmaker, Iyamu Breaks Silence, Says All Issues Will Be Resolved

The coalition said it is “disappointment that prominent individuals, including lawmakers, have violated this provision of the CBN Act.”

Meanwhile, they commended the EFCC for its “swift response in arresting and charging individuals who have been caught on viral videos abusing and defacing the Naira at social events such as the cases of Mr Okuneye Idris Olarewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, and Mr Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest, who have faced legal consequences for their actions.”

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While praising the EFCC for its actions, the coalition demanded that all individuals captured in viral videos abusing the Naira should be promptly arrested and brought to justice, as no one is above the law.

They called on the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the “viral video involving Senator Monday Okpebholo, who is seen engaging in Naira abuse and mutilation.”

They added that Okpebholo should be held accountable for his actions as a representative of the people.

READ ALSO: [ICYMI]Rivers: Siblings Flog Teacher, Lock Up Admin Officer For Flogging Brother

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They, however, warned that failure to address the viral video involving Okpebholo would result in the coalition taking further actions.

They threatened to mobilise their members, supporters, and democracy advocates for a peaceful protest against the EFCC, citing selective action and bias if the EFCC failed to address the viral video involving Okpebholo.

In his response, the senator refuted the allegation, saying it was false.

Okpebholo, in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, described the allegation as a hatchet job targeted at smearing his image ahead of the September governorship election.

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He blamed his detractors and the opposition camp as being the brain behind the campaign of calumny.

READ ALSO: Naira Abuse: EFCC, Cubana Chief Priest To Settle Out Of Court

While stressing that he has never been arrested by the police for any civil or criminal offence, the lawmaker insisted the man in the video circulating on social media was not him.

He said, “As a private and public person, I have never sprayed or mutilated the naira in my over 50 years on earth. It baffles me why these agents will fabricate fake news to tarnish my image ahead of the election. I therefore called on the IGP to investigate the faces behind the petition and prosecute them accordingly.

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“They are scouting for fake news and non-existent things to blackmail me and lie to Edo people. Unfortunately, we know what they are up to. They are smelling the defeat already. Edo people have already decided, and no amount of State-sponsored intimidation will work.

“In Edo State, President Bola Tinubu-led APC administration is working. The federal government is reconstructing federal roads in Edo Central, Edo North, and Edo South. That is why Edo people must take sides with the APC and vote for me as the next governor of Edo State.

“We will bring the Federal Government closer to the Edo people. We have been isolated for too long, and it is time to end that alienation.”
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Mother Throws Disabled 6-year-old Son Into Crocodile Infested River [PHOTOS]

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A mother has thrown her disabled six-year-old son into a crocodile-infested river where he has reportedly been mauled to death by reptiles.

Savitri Kumar, 26, from Uttara Kannada, a district in Karnataka, India, had a heated argument with the boy’s father, Ravi Kumar, 27, who repeatedly ordered her to “throw the child away,” the Times of India reports.

Police say her husband allegedly questioned her decision to give birth to a child with a disability.

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When the parents fought about their son again on Saturday evening, May 4, Savitri was “distressed” and reportedly threw her son into a waste canal that flows into the Kali river, which is infested with crocodiles.

Father of the son

READ ALSO: Benue To Build Brewery As Residents Spend N850m On Beer Monthly

Neighbours who witnessed this called the police, who deployed divers to search for the boy in the water, but to no avail, as it was dark.

They returned on Sunday morning, May 5, and found the child’s body, which showed bite marks all over.

The boy suffered severe injuries and was missing a hand, which a police officer suggested indicated that the boy was mauled to death by one or more crocodiles.

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A post mortem has been ordered to determine the six-year-old’s cause of death.

READ ALSO: JUST-IN: Terrorists Kill Two, Abduct 18 In Fresh Kaduna Attack

The couple also has another son aged two and is said to frequently fight about their older son’s speech impediment.

Officers have launched an investigation into the incident.

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A police officer told local media that it was a “murder” case and that both the husband and wife have been arrested.

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