The 2024 Edo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo, and his party continued their legal battle at the Election Petition Tribunal in Benin on Saturday, tendering additional documentary evidence to support their case.
The petitioners, challenging the declaration of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the September 21, 2024, election, presented over 1,000 documents in court on Friday.
These were provisionally admitted as exhibits despite objections from the respondents’ counsel, who reserved their reasons for later stages.
At Saturday’s hearing, counsel to the petitioners, Ken Mozia, SAN, submitted more evidence, including 55 Certified True Copies (CTCs) of polling unit voters’ registers, 56 accreditation figures from INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, and 72 CTCs of extracts from BVAS devices.
Mozia also tendered 75 CTCs of INEC’s Results Viewing Portal containing Form EC8A, 70 polling unit booklets with Form EC25B, and 125 CTCs of Form EC8A from INEC’s IREV portal.
Additionally, CTCs of compliance certificates and BVAS machines used in 133 polling units were presented.
Counsel for the respondents—Abdullahi Aliyu SAN (INEC), Offiong Offiong SAN (Governor Okpebholo), and Chief Ferdinand Orbih SAN (APC)—objected to the admissibility of several documents but reserved their arguments for the address stage.
The PDP and Ighodalo are asking the tribunal to declare him the rightful winner of the election, arguing that he secured the highest valid votes.
The tribunal, presided over by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, adjourned proceedings to Monday, January 20, 2025, for the continuation of the hearing.