The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has adjourned proceedings to Monday, February 10, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decided not to present any witnesses. The adjournment will allow Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, to begin his defense in the ongoing legal battle over the state’s governorship election.
On Thursday, February 6, INEC’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, informed the three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Okpochi, that the commission would not be calling any witnesses as initially planned. This decision came after further deliberation following Wednesday’s proceedings.
INEC had earlier requested an adjournment to allow its witnesses, many of whom were reportedly traveling from Benin, Edo State, to be present for their testimonies. The commission had lined up five witnesses to defend its declaration of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
INEC had announced that Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerime Ighodalo, who received 247,655 votes. However, the PDP and Ighodalo contested the results, alleging irregularities such as overvoting and incorrect figures recorded at collation centers. In response, they filed a petition against INEC, Okpebholo, and the APC.
As part of the case, INEC had submitted key electoral documents as evidence, including the certified true copy of the Form EC8D result, the election result declaration document, and a copy of its election regulations and guidelines. Additionally, under a subpoena from the petitioners, Anthony Itodo, a senior technical officer in INEC’s ICT Department, provided Biometric Voter Accreditation Machines as evidence to support allegations of multiple incidents of overvoting.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, February 5, Agabi noted that after reconsidering the case, INEC had decided to rely on cross-examinations of the petitioners’ witnesses instead of calling its own witnesses. He stated, “My Lords, after we left you yesterday, we gave more thought to the matter and came to the conclusion that the sensible thing to do is to close the case of the first respondent.”
The petitioner’s counsel, Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, stated that they were not surprised by INEC’s decision and had no objections. Similarly, Okpebholo’s legal team, represented by Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, and D. C. Dewigwe, did not oppose the submission.
Following INEC’s decision, Ikpeazu requested an adjournment to allow the second respondent, Okpebholo, time to prepare and present his defense. He explained, “My Lord, we apply for a date to enable us to open our case – if I have been mindful, I thought we were going to use the next three days to attend to the first respondent’s (INEC) witnesses. I have not already arranged for the witnesses to be moved. I am appealing for maybe next week.”
The tribunal granted the request, and the case was adjourned to February 10 for Okpebholo and the APC to present their defense.
