BENIN CITY – THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its governorship candidate in the September 21, 2024, governorship election, Asue Ighodalo, yesterday, called three more witnesses from three local government areas in the state to prove his allegation of winning the election before the election tribunal sitting in Benin City.
At the continued hearing in the petition by Ighodalo and PDP, challenging the declaration of Monday Okpebholo of All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the petitioners’ witnesses gave testimonies before the court, claiming that widespread irregularities marred the conduct of the poll in their local government areas.
The witness, Destiny Enabulele, led in evidence by counsel to the petitioners, Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, said in arriving at the averment on his witness statement on oath, he examined documents used in the election which included certified true copies of INEC’s summary of the Wards collation results.
He said: “These are documents I examined carefully to arrive at my witness statement on oath. There was no prior recording of sensitive materials deployed by INEC to 19 polling Units in Ovia South West Local Government Area.”
Asked by counsel to the respondents whether he participated in the making of the documents he used to arrive at his statement on oath, Enabulele said he only participated in the making of Form EC8C, which is the ward collation result.
However, there was a mid-drama when the petitioners’ witness from Etsako West Local Government Area, Babah Idenobhe, told the court in his testimonies that there was over voting in three polling Units (units 021-023) in his local government area, but it was discovered that some of the documents the witness claimed to have relied on in arriving at his statement on oath were certified by INEC on January 8, 2025, while his statement on oath was deposed to October 10, 2024.
“One of the materials I took into consideration in my deposition is the original certified true copies of polling units results, photographed with the BIVAS machines,” he posited.
Also, Moses Agbukor, from Etsako East Local Government Area, who functioned in the exercise as Collation Agent for his party PDP in the LGA, in his testimonies claimed over voting and non prior recording of sensitive materials.
In their reactions, Kanu Agabi, SAN, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN and Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, counsel to the INEC, Okpebholo and the APC respectively objected the admissibility of the tendered documents, but reserved their grounds to the final written addresses.
The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, in his ruling, said the documents were provisionally admitted in evidence and then adjourned the sitting till today for continuation of hearing.
