The Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in Edo, Asue Ighodalo, on Monday, closed their case at the Edo Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
The PDP and Ighodalo sued INEC, APC and Governor Monday Okpebholo, challenging the outcome of the governorship election.
When the matter was called, the petitioners’ lead counsel, Robert Emukpoeruo, told the tribunal that his clients had concluded their case having called 19 witnesses.
For its part, INEC tendered five additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines used during the election. Anthony Itodo, a senior technical officer in INEC’s ICT Department, tendered the electronic devices.
They were admitted in evidence even though all the respondents objected, saying they would give their reasons in their final written addresses.
The tribunal had earlier admitted in evidence that 148 BVAS were used in 133 polling units where the petitioners were disputing the election results.
Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led’s three-member tribunal adjourned the matter until Feb. 5 for INEC to open its defence.
Similarly, the ADP closed its case following the testimony of its chairman in Edo, Francis Obamwonyi. Mr Obamwonyi told the tribunal that he would be surprised if anyone told him that the party’s candidate in the election also doubled as the state collation agents since that was his responsibility.
The witness also told the tribunal that his party scored 1,119 votes in the election that INEC declared the APC and its candidate winners. When asked to substantiate his allegations in his witness statement of non-compliance with the electoral act, over-voting, harassment and intimidation, he said he wrote it based on the reports of his party’s agents at various polling units.
The tribunal then fixed February 6 for INEC to open its defence.
In an interview, the chairman of APC in Edo, Jarrett Tenebe, said the PDP closed its case abruptly because they had no case ab initio and that it was an indication that they had abandoned the case.
“They were called to testify but couldn’t produce more witnesses, so closing their case at this point amounts to abandonment of the case. If you are challenging about seven hundred and something polling units and you call only 19 witnesses, does that not amount to abandonment?
“I think they do not have a case that is why they hurriedly closed their case today which is a good thing for the APC,” Mr Tenebe said.
Mr Tenebe expressed confidence that when the APC opened its case, the whole country and the people of Edo would know that the APC won the election.
INEC had declared Mr Okpebholo of the APC as the winner of the September 21, 2024 election, having scored a total of 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Ighodalo of the PDP, who scored 247,655 votes.
Not satisfied with INEC’s declaration, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, asking it to nullify INEC’s declaration of the APC candidate as the winner.
In the petition marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, the petitioners alleged that Mr Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes and that the election was invalid on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
(NAN)
