The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Edo State, effectively ending months of legal challenge by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
Delivering judgment in Abuja, a five-member panel of justices led by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed Ighodalo’s appeal for lacking merit. The apex court ruled that there was no justification to overturn the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, both of which had upheld Okpebholo’s victory in the September 21, 2024, governorship poll.
According to the lead judgment, the PDP and its candidate failed to present credible, admissible evidence to prove their claims of widespread irregularities, including over-voting and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court also criticized the petitioners for relying on documents that were not adequately demonstrated or linked to their allegations. In particular, the court faulted the handling of evidence from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, stating that they were not properly presented or explained through relevant witnesses. Many of the documents, it held, were simply “dumped” on the tribunal.
“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” Justice Garba ruled.
Ighodalo had urged the court to invalidate the May 29 verdict of the Court of Appeal and declare him the rightful winner, alleging that the election was riddled with irregularities. He argued that the lower court failed to properly assess his evidence and the scale of alleged non-compliance. However, INEC, Governor Okpebholo, and the APC maintained that the election complied with legal standards and urged the court to reject the appeal.
The Supreme Court had reserved its judgment on July 2 after hearing final submissions from all parties.
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Previously, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice M.A. Danjuma upheld the May 15 decision of the election tribunal, which had validated the APC candidate’s win. The tribunal, headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed all three petitions filed against Okpebholo — from the PDP, the Action Alliance (AA), and the Accord Party — for lack of merit.
INEC had declared Okpebholo winner of the election with 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo polled 247,655 votes. Dissatisfied, the PDP approached the tribunal, alleging electoral fraud, faulty collation, and violation of the Electoral Act.
Their petition, marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, alleged result manipulation in 765 polling units and failure of INEC to properly serialize sensitive election materials. They also claimed that BVAS data contradicted the results declared.
Despite calling 19 witnesses and submitting 153 BVAS machines as evidence, the tribunal found that the PDP failed to provide polling unit agents, voters, or presiding officers to back their claims. It ruled that much of the testimony amounted to hearsay, and the evidence lacked probative value.
Furthermore, the tribunal held that INEC’s alleged failure to pre-record materials, as claimed under Section 73(2) of the Electoral Act, was not sufficiently proved.
With Thursday’s ruling by the Supreme Court, Okpebholo’s election stands confirmed, putting to rest the legal dispute over the Edo governorship contest.
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