Less than 24 hours after the Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal summoned parties for its ruling, copies of the alleged judgment surfaced online.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had reserved its verdict on March 3 regarding the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mr. Asuerinme Ighodalo, challenging the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the tribunal instructed all parties to appear the following day (Wednesday) for the judgment. However, leaked copies of the ruling, which appeared on the internet, revealed a split decision among the judges.
According to the documents, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Kpochi, and Justice A. B. Yusuf ruled in favor of Governor Monday Okpebholo, dismissing the petition. However, the third member, Justice A. A. Adewole, dissented, ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ighodalo of the PDP as the rightful winner.
In the minority judgment, Justice Adewole argued that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act. He stated that Governor Okpebholo was not validly elected by a majority of lawful votes and nullified his victory.
“The petitioners’ case was not rebutted and demonstrated, unit by unit, that the actual total should be 243,113 votes, while the 2nd Respondent’s tally should be 210,326 votes – a clear reversal of the declared result,” Justice Adewole reportedly stated.
However, in the majority decision, Justice Kpochi acknowledged irregularities, including failure to record serial numbers in EC 25B forms and over-voting. However, he maintained that the petitioners failed to prove these infractions significantly impacted the election outcome.
“On the issue of the majority of lawful votes, the petitioners established some cases of incorrect collation and exclusion of results. However, their mathematical and documentary evidence did not conclusively prove that the margin of lead was overtaken or that they secured the highest number of lawful votes,” the judgment stated.
The panel relied on past Supreme Court rulings, including Oyetola vs. Adeleke (2023) and Atiku vs. INEC (2023), to affirm that the petitioners did not sufficiently demonstrate that the alleged non-compliance was significant enough to change the election’s result.
“The petitioners should have linked each complaint to specific figures, shown the net effect of each infraction, and proved that the outcome would have been different without these violations,” the ruling stated.
“We find that the petitioners have not met the legal burden of proof. Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” it concluded.
INEC had previously declared that Governor Okpebholo of the APC won with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo of the PDP, who secured 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, arguing that the election did not comply with the Electoral Act, 2022. They alleged that Governor Okpebholo did not win the highest number of lawful votes and that INEC failed to properly record and serialize sensitive election materials, facilitating electoral malpractice in favor of the APC.
