Benin City, Edo State – January 23, 2025 – The Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal witnessed dramatic proceedings as a key witness for PDP and Asue Ighodalo, presented evidence of alleged manipulation and falsification of election results in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, in Oredo Local Government Area (LGA).
The tribunal admitted several critical documents, including 45 duplicate result sheets (Forms EC8A), Certified True Copies (CTC) of the voters register, IREV copies of Forms EC8A, BVAS accreditation reports, and extracts, which reportedly revealed discrepancies in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) computation of results. These exhibits, marked as BDB 26-27, BDA 27-29, and BDC 26-28, indicated incorrect scores allocated to the APC across 53 polling units in Oredo LGA.
Taking the stand, the PDP collation agent for Oredo testified that results declared at the polling unit level and uploaded to the IREV portal were allegedly altered by INEC during collation. The witness claimed the collation process for Oredo did not occur at the designated local government collation center but was instead moved to the state collation center, where he was denied access to observe the final stages of collation.
During cross-examination by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), counsel for the APC candidate, the witness detailed polling units where results were purportedly manipulated in favor of the APC, leaving the courtroom astonished. His testimony highlighted inconsistencies in INEC’s computation of results, prompting counsel for the respondents to forgo further cross-examination and allow the witness to step down.
The tribunal adjourned for the continuation of hearings, with additional witnesses for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) expected to testify in the coming days.
