By BONIFACE AKARAH

International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe has offered to enter settlement talks with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over an ongoing intellectual-property dispute involving his client, Dr Adah Obekpa, whom he says developed an election-transparency mechanism later associated with the commission's electronic results system.

Ogebe, who represents Obekpa through the U.S. Nigeria Law Group, made the proposal in a letter addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, urging the commission to review the dispute and consider a settlement.

According to Ogebe, his client is a Nigerian in the diaspora who researched and developed a mechanism for improving election transparency and integrity in Nigeria before sharing the intellectual property with INEC.

“We are global counsel to Dr. Adah Obekpa, a patriotic and accomplished citizen in Diaspora who researched, devised and invented a mechanism for election transparency and integrity customized for Nigeria,” Ogebe stated.

The lawyer alleged that after Obekpa shared the technology with INEC in the hope of collaborating on free and fair elections, his client was “circumvented, marginalized and deprived of his product.”

Ogebe further alleged that the system was subsequently implemented by INEC in a manner that, according to his client, failed to achieve its intended objective.

The dispute comes as electronic transmission of election results continues to feature prominently in discussions about electoral transparency in Nigeria.

Ogebe said his client had retained his law firm to seek a resolution of the litigation already pending against INEC over the alleged violation of his intellectual property.

“In light of the popular demand of the Nigerian electorate displayed this week in protests and the acquiescence of the legislature for electronic transmission of results, a critical component of our client’s invention, our client has retained us to reach out to you to propose a resolution of his ongoing litigation against INEC,” he said.

The lawyer appealed to Amupitan, a law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to review the matter and consider settlement discussions.

“Our client believes that you are well suited to redress the injustice done to him and the electorate,” Ogebe stated.

He proposed that the talks should go beyond resolving the dispute and also assist INEC in strengthening the integrity of its election systems.

“As a sign of goodwill towards the nation and your tenure, we wish to propose settlement talks with a view to assisting you fully, properly and credibly implement the election systems integrity mechanisms in future elections,” he said.

Ogebe also urged INEC to “expeditiously institute a review of our case pursuant to settlement talks,” arguing that the electoral commission's credibility requires fairness not only to voters but also to those who partner with the institution.

The letter did not contain INEC's response to the allegations or the settlement proposal. The claims concerning Obekpa's alleged invention and its subsequent implementation therefore remain allegations advanced by his legal representatives.

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