The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected Governor of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday by a five-member panel led by Justice Lawal Garba, the apex court ruled that the appellants failed to substantiate claims of over-voting, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, and other alleged irregularities.
According to the court, Ighodalo challenged the outcome in just 395 out of 4,519 polling units and failed to present admissible evidence to support his claims.
The court held that the 19 witnesses presented by the PDP during the tribunal proceedings did not sufficiently advance the party’s case.
“The appellant failed to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the election was marred by irregularities and over-voting,” the Supreme Court stated, adding that there was no reason to overturn the decisions of the lower courts.
The ruling upholds earlier verdicts from both the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had also dismissed Ighodalo’s petition for lack of merit.
On May 29, 2025, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, upheld Okpebholo’s victory, agreeing with the tribunal’s April 2 judgment led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi.
The tribunal had dismissed the PDP’s petition, stating that the petitioners failed to prove the allegations of electoral malpractice and irregularities.
The petitioners had alleged massive over-voting, non-serialization of ballots, and incorrect collation of results in 765 polling units.
They also claimed that sensitive electoral materials were not pre-recorded or serialised by INEC, facilitating alleged rigging in favour of the APC.
During the hearing, the petitioners presented 19 witnesses and tendered BVAS machines from 133 polling units through a subpoenaed INEC official.
The respondents, however, maintained that the petitioners failed to link these materials with credible, corroborating testimony.
In his ruling, Justice Kpochi said most of the evidence tendered by the PDP amounted to hearsay, as they failed to present polling unit agents or presiding officers to validate their claims.
“The BVAS machines were clearly dumped and remained dormant. None of the witnesses could speak to them or demonstrate their contents to substantiate overvoting,” the tribunal held.
It also noted that ballot papers bore serial numbers and dismissed the claim of non-serialization.
In the final tally of the Edo governorship poll, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Okpebholo winner with 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo came second with 247,655 votes.
