On Friday, the Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal accepted all documentary evidence presented by Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in his petition challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the Edo State governorship election.
During the resumed hearing of Ighodalo’s petition, marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, the Tribunal admitted all 1,004 documentary pieces of evidence submitted by the petitioner, despite objections from the counsels representing INEC and Senator Okpebholo. The documents included Certified True Copies (CTC) of INEC’s result declaration forms, EC8A-E, and the Local Government Area summary of results used in the conduct of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state.
Lead Counsel for the petitioner, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Ken Mozia, explained that the verification of the 1,004 documents had been thoroughly conducted in the presence of lawyers from all parties and the Registrar, and he subsequently tendered them to the court.
In response, counsels for the first, second, and third respondents—Kanu Agabi (SAN), Onyechi Ikpeazu, and VC Dewigwe—raised objections to the documents’ submission. However, the Tribunal overruled their objections and admitted the evidence in favor of the petitioners.
This development clears the way for the petitioners to begin presenting oral evidence in support of their case as the legal proceedings continue.
,%20in%20his%20petition%20challenging%20the%20Independent%20National%20Electoral%20Commission%20(INEC)%E2%80%99s%20declaration%20of%20Senator%20Monday%20Okpebholo%20as%20the%20winner%20of%20the%20Edo%20State%20governorship%20election.){kind=link}