Taiwo Popoola
Confusion erupted as leaked copies of a yet-to-be-read judgement of the Edo State Governorship tribunal flooded the internet barely hours before judgement day.
According to the judgment document making the rounds on the internet, the lead judgment dismissed the petition and affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
Recall that the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal had, on March 3, reserved its judgment on the case the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mr. Asue 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, 2 April 2025, for the judgement.
In what appeared as a leakage, copies of the judgment made their way onto the internet, indicating a two-to-one split in the decision of the tribunal.
The leaked document showed that the 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, while the third member of the panel, Justice A. A. Adewole, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ighodalo of the PDP as the authentic winner of the poll.
According to the 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 petitioner’s 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 with having 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.
The majority judgment relied on the strength of the Supreme Court’s decided cases in Oyetola vs. Adeleke, 2023, 10 NWLR (Pt 1892), as well as Atiku vs. INEC (2023), 19 NWLR, pt. 1927. The panel held that the petitioners failed to prove not only that non-compliance occurred but also that it was substantial enough to have affected the result of the election.
“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.
Meanwhile, Urban Express News Online was unable to confirm the originality of the leaked judgment document as of the filing of this report.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate, Ighodalo, approached the tribunal on October 11, 2024, alleging that it was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
