By Taiye Agbaje/Edith Nwapi

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday, affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Governor of Edo and winner of the election held on September 21, 2024.

A three-member panel of the court, in a unanimous judgment, held that the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, was unmeritorious.

Justice Olabode-Abimbola Adegbehingbe, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the appellants failed to show that the election tribunal erred in its decision and proceeded to affirm the judgment of the tribunal delivered on April 2.

Justice Adegbehingbe also held that the tribunal was right to hold that the petitioners did not prove their allegations of non-compliance and over voting.

The judge equally held that the evidence of 19 witnesses, called by the appellants at the tribunal, were insufficient to prove the allegations, adding that they failed to call relevant witnesses from the polling units complained about.

“The case of the petitioners (appellants) was inadequately presented by calling only 19 witnesses, most of whom did not witness what happened at the polling units,” he said.

Justice Adegbehingbe noted that 14 out of the 19 witnesses called by the respondents at the tribunal, gave evidence about what they did not witness, having not been present at the polling units when the election was held.

He added that it was impossible for the appellants to prove over voting when they failed to tender voters register.

In partly allowing the cross appeal filed by Okpebholo, Justice Adegbehingbe set aside the decision by the tribunal, admitting the 133 Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines tendered by the appellants in their bid to prove over voting.

The judge said the BVAS machines were wrongly admitted having been tendered from the bar by the appellants’ legal team.

He further held that the tribunal was in grave error when it admitted the BVAS machines that were tendered from the bar in the absence of a prior consent of parties.

The judge said: “The condition precedent to the admission of exhibits from the bar, which is concession, was absent.

“The 133 BVAS machines were wrongly admitted in the manner adopted by the tribunal.”

The judge added that the admission of the BVAS machines was a miscarriage of justice.

He proceeded to set it aside and expunged the BVAS from the record of the tribunal.

Justice Adegbehingbe also struck down some part of the petition filed before the tribunal by Ighodalo and the PDP for being defective.