Abuja: The Court of Appeal in Abuja has confirmed Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress as the Governor of Edo, affirming his victory in the election held on September 21, 2024. A three-member panel delivered the unanimous judgment, asserting that the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, lacked merit.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Justice Olabode-Abimbola Adegbehingbe, who gave the lead judgment, concluded that the appellants did not demonstrate any errors in the election tribunal’s decision. The court upheld the tribunal’s April 2 judgment, which found no evidence of non-compliance or over voting as alleged by the petitioners.
The judgment noted the inadequacy in the presentation of the appellants’ case, citing that 19 witnesses were insufficient to substantiate their claims. Many of these witnesses had no direct knowledge of events at the contested polling units. It was highlighted that the appellants’ failure to provide the voters register further weakened their over voting allegations.
In a partial acceptance of Okpebholo’s cross-appeal, Justice Adegbehingbe nullified the tribunal’s acceptance of 133 Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System machines, which the appellants submitted to prove over voting. The judge noted that these machines were improperly admitted without necessary consent from all parties involved.
The admission of the BVAS machines was labeled a miscarriage of justice, leading to their expungement from the tribunal’s record. Additionally, some sections of the petition filed by Ighodalo and the PDP were deemed defective and subsequently struck down.
In response to the appellate court’s decision, Ighodalo and the PDP have expressed their intent to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court. A PDP chieftain present in court confirmed that their legal team has been directed to file an appeal with the highest court.