The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by Asue Ighodalo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as lacking merit.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Olabode Abimbola Adegbehingbe held that the appellants failed to establish credible evidence of over-voting and non-compliance with electoral laws, thereby upholding the earlier ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal delivered on April 2.
Unfazed by the appellate court’s verdict, Ighodalo and the PDP have vowed to proceed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment. A PDP chieftain, present at the court, confirmed that legal teams have been instructed to file an immediate appeal to the apex court.
In its ruling, the three-member panel stated that the evidence presented by Ighodalo’s legal team was grossly insufficient. Justice Adegbehingbe noted that only 19 witnesses were called by the appellants—most of whom were not present at the polling units during the election—making their testimonies inadmissible in proving alleged electoral malpractice.
“The case of the petitioners was inadequately presented,” the judge ruled. “They failed to call witnesses from the specific polling units in contention.”
Justice Adegbehingbe also addressed a critical aspect of the PDP’s petition—the use of Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines. He ruled that the 133 BVAS machines tendered by Ighodalo’s legal team were wrongly admitted into evidence, as they were presented from the bar without the consent of all parties involved.
He described the tribunal’s acceptance of the BVAS evidence as a “grave error” and a “miscarriage of justice,” leading to their expunction from the record.
The court further struck out several portions of the PDP’s petition, citing procedural defects and lack of admissible evidence to support claims of irregularities.
In response to the verdict, Governor Okpebholo welcomed the ruling and called on Ighodalo to “accept the decision of the court and join hands to move Edo State forward.”
The legal battle now shifts to the Supreme Court, where the final determination of the Edo governorship dispute is expected in the coming months.
