In a surprising turn of events at the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on Thursday, February 6th, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to present any witnesses to defend its declaration of Sen. Monday Okpebholo and the APC as winners of the September 21st Edo State Governorship Election.
Earlier, on Wednesday, February 5th, INEC had acknowledged the absence of witnesses and requested an adjournment to February 6th to present five witnesses, alongside three documents previously submitted by the Petitioners.
When the hearing resumed for case EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, INEC’s counsel, Kanu Agabi SAN, unexpectedly announced that the commission would not be presenting any witnesses and moved to close its case.
This left the courtroom in shock, as there were high expectations, particularly from the APC camp, for INEC to call witnesses to support its declaration of Okpebholo’s victory, which is being contested by the PDP and its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
The week before, INEC had submitted 152 BVAS machines in response to a subpoena from the PDP, providing evidence of alleged over-voting incidents in the election.
In light of INEC’s failure to present witnesses, counsel for Gov. Okpebholo and the APC, Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN and D.C. Dewigwe SAN, requested an adjournment to gather their own witnesses and begin their case.
The court has adjourned to February 10th, 2025.
