Tribunal Berates PDP, Ighodalo Over Witness Absence In Edo Governorship Election Case

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has expressed dissatisfaction with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, for failing to produce witnesses in their petition challenging the outcome of the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial election in the state.

At Tuesday’s proceedings in Abuja, counsel for the PDP and Ighodalo, Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, attributed the absence of witnesses to “travel disruptions.”

“My lords, this is the reason we are unable to present them today. We urge your Lordships to give us another date. We undertake that on the next date, we will bring as many witnesses as may be convenient for the tribunal,” Oyeyipo pleaded.

This statement came after a witness, Oseyili Anenih, was discharged. However, the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led tribunal did not hide its displeasure.

“What you are just telling us is not good at all! Why then did we ask the other petitioners to take dates? We should have heard them today,” Justice Kpochi said sternly. “In fact, call those your witnesses. Tell them to come, we are ready for them to come today.”

Despite the tribunal’s insistence, the petitioners’ counsel pleaded for another adjournment, arguing that the witnesses might not be in the right frame of mind to testify after their travel ordeals.

Naija News gathered that the tribunal subsequently adjourned the case to Thursday.

Earlier, Anenih, the Director of Research and Strategy for the PDP, testified that the party was contesting results from 765 of the 4,519 polling units in the state.

Under cross-examination, Anenih admitted he did not visit all polling units during the election. He said most of the evidence presented by the PDP was based on reports from agents and experts.

He further revealed that many copies of election results submitted by PDP agents were unsigned. Nevertheless, he maintained that if lawful votes were accurately collated, Ighodalo would have emerged as the winner.

Anenih also admitted that the PDP did not have physical access to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used during the election. Instead, the party relied on screenshots of BVAS data, which were submitted as evidence.

He added that the PDP had subpoenaed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide the BVAS machines for verification.

When questioned by counsel for Governor Monday Okpebholo, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, Anenih confirmed that he was not trained by INEC to participate in the electoral process.

He also acknowledged that many election results brought by PDP agents lacked INEC stamps, with only three out of 16 results in one bundle being stamped.

“To us, that three that were stamped was significant enough. It represents almost 20%,” Anenih stated.

The PDP and Ighodalo have called on the tribunal to nullify the election results, citing alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act. They also argued that Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not secure the majority of lawful votes cast.

The tribunal is set to reconvene on Thursday for further hearings.