The Supreme Court has held back its final decision on the appeal filed by Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, challenging the outcome of the September 2024 Edo State governorship election.
The appeal, which targets the victory of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Monday Okpebholo, was heard on Wednesday, July 2, by a five-member panel led by Justice Garba Lawal.
Ighodalo’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ken Mozia, asked the court to reverse the judgments of the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, both of which upheld Okpebholo’s win as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
On May 29, 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja had affirmed the earlier ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which dismissed Ighodalo’s petition.
The tribunal, in its April 2 ruling, held that Ighodalo and the PDP failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and irregularities.
“We hold that the failure by the petitioners to call polling unit agents, presiding officers or other registered voters was fatal to the case,” Justice Wilfred Kpochi, who chaired the tribunal, ruled.
“It still remains the law that documents do not speak for themselves. A petitioner must prove their evidence. The allegation of non-compliance must be proved,” he added.
On the issue of BVAS machines presented as evidence, Justice Kpochi noted, “The BVAS machines were clearly dumped and remain dormant.
“ None of the witnesses could speak to the BVAS machine. The machines were not demonstrated to prove the allegations of over-voting.”
The PDP and Ighodalo had alleged widespread electoral malpractice, claiming the results from 765 polling units were manipulated and that ballot papers were not properly serialised.
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They also argued that INEC failed to record sensitive election materials as required by law.
Despite calling 19 witnesses and producing 154 BVAS machines from 133 polling units, the tribunal ruled their evidence fell short.
“All the evidence documents tendered by the petitioners to prove over-voting fall short of the requirements,” Kpochi said. “The law requires that the petitioners shall call witnesses to link the evidence rendered.”
INEC did not present any witnesses in the case. Okpebholo’s side called one witness, while the APC presented four.
In the official result announced by INEC, Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes. Ighodalo came second with 247,655.
During Wednesday’s hearing, INEC’s counsel, Kanu Agabi, asked the court to dismiss the appeal, arguing that the PDP had contradicted itself.
“The petitioners described the election as illegal and could not then ask to be declared winners of the same election,” Agabi told the court.
Lawyers for both Okpebholo and the APC, Onyechi Ikpeazu and Emmanuel Okala, also urged the Supreme Court to uphold the rulings of the lower courts.
After hearing all sides, Justice Garba Lawal said the court would communicate the date of judgment in due course.