From Moshood Karim
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate for the September 21, 2024, election in Edo State, Dr Asue Ighodalo, presented three additional witnesses at the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal on Wednesday.
These new testimonies were delivered in support of the petition challenging the declaration of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the election winner.
The PDP, alongside its candidate, had filed a petition contesting the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) announcement of Okpebholo as victor in the closely contested poll. The petitioners have raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the election process.
At Tuesday’s session, three witnesses from Ikpoba-Okha, Akoko-Edo, and Owan West Local Government Areas (LGAs) testified in favour of the petitioners. Their testimonies were meant to substantiate the claims of electoral malpractice, prompting a brief adjournment by the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led Tribunal to Wednesday for further hearings.
In the resumed proceedings, new testimonies were presented by the PDP’s witnesses. Destiny Oghayerio Enabulele, testifying for the party, explained that after thoroughly examining election documents, including certified true copies of INEC’s Ward Collation results, he concluded that there were significant issues with the conduct of the election in Ovia South West LGA.
“I personally examined documents used in the election, including INEC’s summary of the ward results, and based on this, I can confidently say that there was no prior recording of sensitive materials for 19 polling units in my LGA,” Enabulele stated.
During cross-examination, the witness was asked whether he had participated in the creation of the documents he referenced. Enabulele clarified that while he had not been involved in the creation of all the documents, he had participated in the preparation of the Form EC8C (Ward Collation result).
Meanwhile, Babah Idenobhe, a witness from Etsako West LGA, provided testimony regarding alleged over-voting in three polling units (units 021-023) within his area. However, questions arose regarding the timeline of his evidence, as certain documents he referenced were certified by INEC in January 2025, after his statement on oath was made in October 2024.
Additionally, Moses Agbukor, another witness from Etsako East LGA, claimed to have witnessed over-voting and a lack of proper documentation of sensitive materials. Agbukor, who had acted as the PDP Collation Agent for his LGA, sought to have his Party’s Ward Collation Agent Tag and his witness statement on oath admitted as evidence.
Legal representatives for the respondents, including Kanu Agabi, SAN, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, and Ukala, SAN, representing INEC, Governor Okpebholo, and the APC respectively, objected to the admissibility of the documents tendered by the petitioners. However, they reserved their grounds for objections until the final written addresses.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Kpochi, provisionally admitted the disputed documents as evidence, with the understanding that their final admissibility would be determined later.
The Tribunal then adjourned until Thursday, January 23, 2025, for the continuation of the hearing.
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