The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, dismissing all legal challenges brought against his victory in the September 21, 2024 governorship poll.A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, unanimously struck out the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, for lacking merit.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Garba ruled that the appellants failed to present credible and sufficient evidence to back their allegations of over-voting, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
“The appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by law,” the court held, affirming that documents tendered by the PDP, including BVAS reports, were “dumped” on the lower tribunal without proper demonstration through witnesses.
The court further maintained the earlier rulings of both the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had declared Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, as the lawful winner of the election.
According to official results from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo who garnered 247,655 votes.
The PDP had claimed election materials were not serialized and alleged manipulation in 765 polling units, but the court noted that of the 4,519 polling units in the state, irregularities were not convincingly proven in the 432 units the appellants challenged.
Earlier, the tribunal had also dismissed similar petitions filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Accord Party (AP).
With Thursday’s judgment, the Supreme Court has brought finality to the legal tussle, confirming Okpebholo’s legitimacy as Governor of Edo State.
Writing by Samson Asije