Barely 24 hours after summoning parties to appear before
it, copies of the purported judgment of the Edo State Governorship Election
Petition Tribunal has flooded the internet.
The Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal had on
March 3, reserved its judgment on the case the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
and its candidate, Mr Asuerinme Ighodalo, filed to challenge the outcome of the
governorship poll that was held in the state on September 21, 2024.
The panel had in the early hours of Tuesday, directed the
parties to appear before it on Wednesday for the judgement.
However, in what appeared as a leakage, copies of the
judgement made their way into the internet, indicating a two-to-one split in
the decision of the tribunal.
According to the documents that were sighted by Vanguard on
Tuesday, while Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kpochi, and member 1 of the
tribunal, Justice A. B. Yusuf, dismissed the petition and affirmed the election
of Governor Monday Okpebholo, the third member of the panel, Justice A. A.
Adewole, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue
fresh Certificate of Return to Ighodalo of the PDP as the authentic winner of
the poll.
In the said minority judgement, Justice Adewole held that
Governor Okpebholo’s election was invalid by reason of non-substantial
compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
He held that the 2nd Respondent, governor Okpebholo, was not
duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast and proceeded to nullify his
return as the winner of the gubernatorial contest.
“The petitioners case was not rebutted and showed unit by
unit, how the actual total should be 243,113 votes, while the 2nd Respondent’s
tally should stand at 210, 326 votes- a clear reversal of the declared result,”
Justice Adewole was credited to have held in the leaked documents.
However, in the lead and majority decision of the tribunal,
its Chairman, Justice Kpochi, held that “while there was credible evidence of
non-compliance particularly concerning section 73(2) (failure to record serial
numbers in EC 25B) and section 51(2) (over-voting) the petitioners failed to
demonstrate that these breaches substantially affected the outcome of the
election as required under section 135(1) of the Electoral Act.
“On the issue of the majority of lawful votes, the
petitioners established instances of incorrect collation and exclusion of
results. However, their mathematical and documentary evidence did not
conclusively establish that the margin of lead was overtaken or that they
scored the highest number of lawful votes.”
Relying on the Supreme Court decided cases in Oyetola Vs
Adeleke, 2023, 10NWLR (Pt 1892), as well as Atiku Vs INEC (2023), 19NWLR, pt.
1927, the panel held that the petitioners failed to prove not only that
non-compliance occured, but also that it was substantial enough to have
affected the result of the election.
Adding that the petitioners ought to have tied every
complaint to figures, demonstrated the net effect of each infraction and shown
that for the violation the outcome would have changed.
“We find that the petitioners have not discharged the dual
burden to the satisfaction of the law.
“Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby
dismissed,” the document further read.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of
291, 667 votes to defeat his closet rivalry, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a
total of 247, 655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its
candidate approached the tribunal, alleging that it was not conducted with
substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, it was alleged
that Governor Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes that
were cast at the election.
It was equally the contention of the petitioners that INEC
failed to serialise and pre-record some of the sensitive materials that were
deployed for the poll, a situation they said aided the rigging of the election
in favour of the APC and its candidate.
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