The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Thursday, said it would not call any witness to defend the outcome of the governorship election it conducted in Edo State on September 21, 2024.
The electoral body, through its team of lawyers led by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, told the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja that it would not produce any witness to testify on its behalf.
Agabi, SAN, made the disclosure barely 24 hours after the Commission told the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member panel tribunal that it had a line-up of five witnesses that would give evidence to support the result it declared in favour of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who is the 2nd Respondent in the case.
INEC persuaded the tribunal to adjourn the case till Thursday, stressing that the witnesses would come to Abuja from Benin, Edo State.
However, at the resumed proceeding, INEC’s lead counsel, Agabi, SAN, said his team shelved the idea of bringing witnesses, after it reviewed the case.
“My lords, after we left you yesterday (Wednesday), we gave more thought to the matter and came to the conclusion that the sensible thing to do is to close the case of the 1st Respondent, which we hereby do,” Agabi, SAN, told the tribunal.
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On their part, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, said they were not surprised by the development.
“Frankly speaking, we are not surprised and it is well within the right of the 1st Respondent to show such a good discretion. We are not objecting,” the petitioners’ counsel, Mr. Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, stated.
Both Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who appeared for Governor Okpebholo and Mr. D. C. Dewigwe, who represented the APC, said they were not opposed to INEC’s decision.
Consequently, the panel adjourned the matter till Monday for governor Okpebholo to open his defence to the petition.
It will be recalled that INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291, 667 votes to defeat his closet rivalry, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247, 655 votes.
Aggrieved by the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, praying it to nullify INEC’s declaration of the APC and Okpebholo as winners of the contest.
The petitioners, among other things, contended that the governorship election was invalid by reason of alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
They equally argued in the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, that governor Okpebholo of the APC did not secure the highest number of lawful votes that were cast at the election.
Satisfied with evidence of 19 witnesses that testified and tendered several documents in support of their case, the petitioners closed their case on Monday.
INEC had earlier produced and tendered before the tribunal, a total of 153 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVA, machines that were used in the 133 polling units where results of the election are disputed.
The Commission equally tendered in evidence, a certified copy of the result of the governorship election.
