Supreme Court reserves judgment in Edo guber dispute

By Sunday Ejike

Supreme Court reserves judgment in Edo guber dispute

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, reserved judgment in the appeal challenging the victory of Senator Monday Okpeholo in the September 21, 2024, Edo state governorship election.

The apex Court adjourned the judgment indefinitely after taking arguments for and against Okpebholo鈥檚 declaration as the winner of the Edo state Governorship Election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Garba Lawal of the Supreme Court, who presided over the hearing of the appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Asue Ighodalo and his party, said the date for the delivery of the judgment would be communicated to the parties in the matter.

Ighodalo, whose appeal was argued by Ken Mosia, SAN prayed the Supreme Court to remove Okpeholo and pronounce him as the winner of the election on the ground that he scored the lawful majority votes in the election.

In its submission, INEC, represented by Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN asked the apex Court to dismiss the appeal in its entirety.

Agabi argued that Ighodalo and PDP had, in their petition, stigmatised the election as invalid and unlawful on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022.

The electoral body said, having declared the election as unlawful and illegal, Ighodalo and PDP cannot turn around and pray the court to declare them as winners of illegality.

INEC accused Ighodalo and PDP of being inconsistent in their grievances against the election and pleaded that their case be dismissed for want of merit.

It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, had, in May this year, affirmed Senator as the duly elected governor of Edo State.

A three-member panel of Justices of the court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Danjuma, in the judgement, upheld Okpebholo鈥檚 election and dismissed the appeal filed by Ighodalo and his party.

The PDP and Ighodalo had sued INEC, the governor, and others for declaring Sen. Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the poll, alleging that the election was marred by irregularities.

It would be recalled also that the Edo state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which sat in Abuja, had, on April 2, 2025, dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate challenging the election of Senator Monday Okpebholo.

Justice Wilfred Kpochi of the three-member panel of the Tribunal, who delivered the unanimous judgment, stressed that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

Okpebholo and Dennis Idahosa were sworn in as governor and deputy governor of Edo State on November 12, 2024, after

INEC had, in September 2024, declared Monday Okpebholo the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and its candidate approached the Tribunal for redress, insisting that the governor did not win with the majority of lawful votes cast as required by law.

The PDP and its candidate urged the Tribunal to nullify INEC鈥檚 declaration of the APC and Okpebholo as winners, citing non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, particularly regarding vote counting.

However, the APC and Okpebholo鈥檚 legal team urged the tribunal to dismiss the petitions as baseless and lacking in merit, arguing that the petitioners failed to substantiate allegations of an 鈥渋nvalid鈥 poll.

In the judgment, Justice Wilfred Kpochi held that the petitioner must prove electoral malpractice allegations against INEC, not the other way round and agreed with the defendants that the petitioners failed to present polling unit agents and presiding officers to prove their claims.

He said it was 鈥渃lear to us that the documents tendered from the bar (by the petitioners) were dumped on the Tribunal without any competent witness鈥 to substantiate claims of over-voting and electoral non-compliance.

鈥淭hese witnesses (presented by the petitioners, comprising Local Government agents and others) are total strangers,鈥 the judge stressed and subsequently dismissed the petition for failing to prove its case against the governor鈥檚 election.

The PDP and others then approached the Appeal Court for the setting aside of the judgement of the Tribunal.

The Appeal Court, in its Judgment, held that the Tribunal was right to find that the PDP and its candidate 鈥渄umped鈥 evidence on it without clearly demonstrating non-compliance and over-voting in line with the Electoral Act or switching on the said BVAS machines at the proceedings.

鈥淭he petitioners failed woefully to prove their allegations of over-voting,鈥 the Appeal Court held and added that cogent evidence is needed to dispute an election, not 鈥減resumptions鈥 by witnesses who could not testify to what they observed at the polling units and collation centres.

Subsequently, the Appeal Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgement of the Tribunal, which upheld the election of Senator Okpebholo as the governor of Edo state.

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