From Ismail Omipidan, Abuja

For now, the Supreme Court remains the final arbiter in governorship election litigations in Nigeria. Therefore, unless those contesting the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State choose otherwise, the legal battle over the Edo governorship election may not be over yet. However, it is unlikely that the two remaining appellate courts will overturn the Tribunal’s decision, especially given that its ruling aligns with recent Supreme Court pronouncements on the contentious 2022 Osun governorship election case.

With the Appeal Court’s contentious ruling that, despite the use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), those who want to prove over-voting must still plead and lead evidence with regards to Voter’s Register, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court in the Osun Governorship case, it would remain a daunting task to prove over-voting.

According to Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act, to vote, the presiding officer shall use the smart card reader or any other technological device that maybe prescribed by the Commission for the accreditation of voters to “verify, authenticate the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.”

Section 51 (2) of the Act further stipulates that “where the number of votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceeds the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the presiding officer shall cancel the result of the election in that polling unit.”

From the reading of the two sections above, it is doubtful what role the Voter’s Register is still expected to play in that circumstance, especially when BVAS is expected to capture all those who may have come out to vote, whereas the register will contain those who came out to vote and those who never showed up. But the court is insisting that without the Voter’s Register, one cannot prove over-voting.

Ironically, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which benefited from this judicial precedent about two years ago in Osun, now seeks a different outcome—driven purely by political considerations.

Daily Sun recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had last year, declared Okpebholo and APC winners of the Edo State governorship election, having said to have polled a majority lawful votes of 291, 667 to defeat his closet rival, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, who polled 247, 655 votes.

Dissatisfied with the declaration, PDP and Ighodalo approached the tribunal, praying it to nullify the election of Okpebholo on the grounds of irregularities and non-compliance with the electoral laws.

The petitioners had anchored their claims on alleged over-voting and wrong computation of results during collation of results. At the tribunal, they claimed that they have successfully demonstrated electoral malpractices in 765 polling units out of 4,519 across the state.

The two petitioners through their lawyer, Mr. Ken Mozia, SAN, stressed that the petition should be determined by the impact of irregularities, not just the percentage of affected polling units. This is just as they highlighted discrepancies at various collation levels, where figures on Form EC8A (polling unit results) were allegedly reduced at the ward and local government collation stages (EC8B).

But the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, refused to be swayed by the petioners’ argument, as it, on Wednesday, affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo, as being validly elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 21, 2024 Governorship poll, as the governor.

The three-man panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi dismissed the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their allegation of over-voting, adding that they did not call competent witnesses to authenticate the documentary evidence they presented, submitting that this amounted to “dumping documents” on the tribunal.

In their opinions, they averred that the petitioners failed to establish a link between the documents they presented and their allegations of over-voting. To prove over-voting, the tribunal said the two petitioners were required by law to tender the voter’s register, BVAS and Form EC8A, which they did not do.

The tribunal Chairman, who read the lead judgement, also held that no eye witnesses were called to testify on alleged over-voting, making the allegations unbelievable.

Specifically, the tribunal dismissed the petition brought before it by Asue Ighodalo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asserting that Ighodalo and PDP did not speak to the documents they tendered, but merely dumped the documents on the court.

Accord Party’s petition

Earlier, the Election Petition Tribunal also dismissed a petition by the Accord Party (AP) seeking a fresh governorship election in Edo State, noting that it failed to comply with the Electoral Act. The tribunal further held that the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof required by law, stating that their claims that the election breached electoral laws lacked evidence to support allegations of thuggery, ballot stuffing, and voter harassment.

The AP and its governorship candidate, Bright Enabulele, had filed the petition challenging Okpebholo’s victory, alleging corruption and claiming that the APC did not win the majority of lawful votes, despite securing 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,655.

Action Alliance’s petition

In the same vein, the Election Petition Tribunal, also dismissed the petition, filed by the Action Alliance (AA) against Okpebholo and the APC. The tribunal struck out the petition for lack of locus standi, describing it as lacking merit and frivolous.

The AA and its candidate, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, had challenged the validity of Okpebholo’s election, alleging non-compliance with the Electoral Act and arguing that INEC’s declaration of the APC’s victory was “illegal, unlawful, and null and void.”

But the tribunal ruled that Omoaje, having not have participated in the election, had no locus to challenge the outcome of the election, adding that Omoaje’s main grievance was that he was not recognised as the National Chairman of the AA for the purpose of nominating a candidate for the election. To this end, the Panel held that his claims had no basis under the Electoral Act 2022.

PDP’s petition

In the lead judgment, Justice Kpochi, formulated two issues for determination based on the petition brought before the tribunal by the PDP and Ighodalo, with the first issue being whether from the totality of pleadings and evidence led by the petitioners, they were able to establish their claim that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act. And the second issue was whether Okpebholo won the election with majority of lawful votes.

In resolving the first issue, Justice Kpochi, after evaluating the petitioners’ evidence, held that the PDP and Ighodalo failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law with regards to the nature of allegations, just as he also held that none of the 19 witnesses called by the petitioners were a relevant witness who could give eyewitness accounts of what transpired at the polling units, where the results were being challenged.

Justice Kpochi noted that most of the witnesses were either Ward Collation Agent or Local Government Collation Agent, pointing out that petitioners did not call either their Polling Unit Agents or registered voters who voted at the polling units. He also noted that the petitioners had alleged that relevant details were not filled in the election documents before the commencement of voting, saying that having so alleged, the petitioners ought to have called polling unit agents and registered voters who voted in the affected polling units.

Hear him: “We hold that the failure of the petitioners to call polling agents, presiding officers or even registered voters was fatal to their case. The petitioners did not call any scintilla of evidence to prove their claim that the relevant forms were not filled as required. The first to 14th witnesses gave hearsay evidence because they were not near the polling units during the election,” Justice Kpochi said.

He further noted that the petitioners’ star witness was the Director of Research and Strategy, who did not play any role in the election, saying that all the documents and materials tendered by the petitioners, including election documents and the BVAS machines, were not demonstrated, adding that “it is clear that the documents were dumped. No competent witness was called to give evidence on the documents. No eye witnesses, who witnessed how the election took place at the polling units were called.

“Where no witness is called to link the documentary evidence to the case of the petitioners, it is not the duty of the court to be scrutinising the documents tendered by parties. The BVAS machines were clearly dumped and remained dormant. The machines were not demonstrated at trial nor did any witnesses testify on the content of the BVAS machines,” the tribunal chairman said. He further noted that it was not for the tribunal to be looking into the documents and BVAS machines tendered.

Interestingly, Justice Kpochi also resolved the second issue in favour of Governor Okpebholo, making similar observations with regards to the quality of evidence presented by the petitioners. After weighing the evidence, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove that leg of their petition, saying that by the quality of evidence led by the petitioners, it showed that they did not appreciate what was required of them to prove their allegations

Governor Okpebholo Reacts

Reacting to the outcome of the tribunal, Governor Okpebholo, through a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, said the judgment validated the popular mandate conferred on him by the Edo electorate, calling on the opposition to join him to build a new Edo State.

“Today, Wednesday, 2nd April, 2025, the Elections Tribunal delivered a resounding verdict, affirming the clear mandate of the people and upholding the victory of His Excellency, Governor Monday Okpebholo.

“The Tribunal, after a thorough and impartial examination of the petitions brought forward by the opposition, has dismissed all claims, confirming that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and that Governor Monday Okpebholo was duly elected.

“This decision validates the overwhelming support demonstrated by the citizens and residents of Edo State during the election. It reaffirms the integrity of our democratic process and stands as a testament to the will of the people.

“Governor Monday Okpebholo wishes to express his profound gratitude to the Tribunal for their diligence and fairness. He also extends his sincere appreciation to the people of Edo State for their unwavering support and belief in his vision for a prosperous and united state. This victory is not mine alone, but a victory for every citizen and resident of Edo State. It is a mandate to continue the work we have started, to build a state where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. We remain committed to our promise of good governance, transparency, and inclusive development,” the statement reads in parts.