Edo: Ighodalo’s Lawyers Vow To Challenge Tribunal’s Ruling In Court Of Appeal

The legal team representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, has vowed to challenge the recent ruling by the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The tribunal had, on Wednesday, upheld the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by Ighodalo and the PDP, declaring that it lacked merit.

The petition challenged the result of the September 21, 2024, Edo State gubernatorial election, where Okpebholo was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), having secured 291,667 votes compared to Ighodalo’s 247,655 votes.

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The PDP and Ighodalo had approached the tribunal, alleging that the election was marred by irregularities and did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Specifically, they claimed that Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes, and alleged that INEC had failed to properly serialise and pre-record sensitive materials used in the election, thus aiding the rigging of the poll in favour of the APC.

The petitioners presented 19 witnesses and tendered numerous documents, including 153 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used in 133 polling units, to back their claims.

They alleged that results from these units were manipulated at the collation centers, leading to over-voting in Okpebholo’s favour.

However, the tribunal found that the petitioners failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate their claims. It ruled that the onus was on the petitioners to prove that Okpebholo’s victory was unlawful, but noted that they did not meet this requirement. The panel emphasized that a petitioner must succeed based on their own case, not the weakness of the defence.

The tribunal rejected new facts introduced by the petitioners in their reply, ruling that they were not part of their original case. It also criticized the petitioners for failing to produce competent witnesses, such as polling unit agents or presiding officers, to substantiate their claims of over-voting and irregularities.

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The tribunal stressed that hearsay evidence provided by most of the petitioners’ witnesses was insufficient to prove their case.

One of the key issues raised by the petitioners was the claim of over-voting in some polling units. The tribunal noted that to prove over-voting, the petitioners needed to present essential items such as the Voters Register, BVAS machines, and Form EC8A. However, the petitioners only submitted BVAS screenshots, which were not sufficient to support their allegations.

The tribunal ruled that even if the votes the petitioners claimed were unlawfully credited to the APC were deducted, Governor Okpebholo would still have remained the winner of the election.

Following the ruling, according to Vanguard, the Ighodalo’s legal team expressed their dissatisfaction with the judgment and vowed to take the matter to the Court of Appeal.

The party’s lawyers insist that the tribunal’s findings were flawed and that they would continue to seek justice through the appellate court.