Our Reporter, Abuja
The Supreme Court, Thursday, upheld the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo, for lacking merit.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Garba, who headed the five-member panel, said the court found no justification to overturn the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had earlier validated Okpebholo’s election.
The apex court held that Ighodalo failed to provide credible and admissible evidence to support his claims that the September 21, 2024, governorship election was marred by widespread irregularities, including over-voting and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
Specifically, the court faulted the PDP candidate for failing to call relevant witnesses to back his claims, particularly with respect to the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines. It noted that some of the evidence tendered before the tribunal was “dumped from the Bar” without proper demonstration, especially in relation to 432 out of the 4,519 polling units in the state.
“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by law,” the court ruled.
Ighodalo, in his appeal marked SC/CV/536/2025, had asked the Supreme Court to reverse the May 29 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which upheld Okpebholo’s victory. He argued that the appellate court failed to properly evaluate his case, insisting that the election lacked substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.
At the hearing, the PDP urged the court to declare Ighodalo the rightful winner, claiming he secured the highest number of valid votes. However, Governor Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the election result.
Earlier, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice M. A. Danjuma, had affirmed the tribunal’s May 15 decision which declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor. The tribunal, presided over by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had dismissed petitions from the PDP and Ighodalo; the Action Alliance (AA) and its National Chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje; and the Accord Party (AP) with its candidate, Dr. Bright Enabulele.
INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC polled 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo of the PDP, who garnered 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, alleging irregularities and asserting that Okpebholo did not win the majority of lawful votes. They also claimed INEC failed to pre-record and serialize sensitive election materials, which allegedly facilitated rigging.
In their petition (EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024), the PDP alleged result manipulation in 765 polling units and tendered evidence including 153 BVAS machines used across 133 polling units. They also presented 19 witnesses.
However, the tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to prove their case with credible evidence. It criticized the PDP’s reliance on hearsay testimony and its failure to produce polling unit agents or presiding officers to support their claims.
The court also rejected the claim that INEC breached section 73(2) of the Electoral Act by not pre-recording materials, and emphasized that none of the BVAS machines presented were powered on to demonstrate over-voting.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling, the legal battle over the 2024 Edo governorship election has been conclusively laid to rest in favor of Governor Okpebholo.
