Our reporter
At the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday, a key witness for the petitioners, Mr Increase Mattias, denied having direct knowledge of any inflated or deflated vote totals in the 2024 election.
Mr Mattias, known as PW7 in the on-going case (EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024) involving Ighodalo Asuerinme and others versus INEC and two other respondents, told the tribunal that his evidence was based entirely on documents and reports from party agents, rather than firsthand involvement in the election process.
Testifying after the petitioners indicated they had exhausted their list of witnesses under the first schedule, PW7 affirmed that he had neither personally handled nor signed off on any election results. Instead, he relied on certified true copies (CTCs) of forms, BVAS accreditation reports, and voters’ registers, all provided by party agents at various polling units.
During cross-examination, representatives for the first respondent pointed to discrepancies in PW7’s testimony, noting that some of the BVAS reports he referenced had only been certified three months after his statement was filed. PW7 conceded that he had drawn conclusions based on agents’ reports without direct involvement as a polling unit or ward agent. He acknowledged that some of the forms he had reviewed were signed by agents, while others were not.
The second respondent raised concerns about over-voting in certain units, highlighting that some results were cancelled or adjusted at the ward collation centre. PW7 confirmed that while some of the forms he examined lacked serial numbers, they were nonetheless filled out correctly and submitted as part of the election process.
In further questioning by the third respondent, PW7 confirmed he had no direct role with the BVAS machines nor in the collation of results. He maintained that his testimony was solely based on the documents he had reviewed and the reports provided by party agents.
Meanwhile, the petitioners called another witness, Aigbe Ighodaro Lucky, known as PW8. Mr Ighodaro, a 57-year-old interior decorator from Benin City, testified to having reviewed various election documents, including BVAS reports and agents’ copies of EC8A forms. He too was questioned about the source of his evidence, with both the first and second respondents raising concerns about discrepancies in the cancellation of results with over-voting and the procedures at ward and local government levels.
In cross-examination, PW8 confirmed that his conclusions were based on documents obtained by his party and not from direct involvement in the election process. He further acknowledged that he had not personally signed or handled any of the documents in question and had not used the BVAS machines.
Following the testimony, the court adjourned, with respondents reserving their objections for the final written addresses.
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