More witnesses have continued to testify, at the instance of Asue Ighodalo and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), before the governorship election petitions tribunal sitting in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
The witnesses alleged massive irregularities in the conduct of the September 21, 2024 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Oredo, Ovia South West, and Esan North East.
There were also witnesses from Esan Central.
The witness from Oredo Local Government Area said the conduct of the governorship election was characterised by irregularities in some polling units in Esan North East, Oredo, Esan South East, and Esa Central local government areas.
Giving his testimony at the resumed hearing on the petition marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, the petitioners’ witness and PDP Esan North East Local Government Area Collation Agent, Mr Igbarase Matthias, prayed the tribunal to admit his statement on oath, which he deposed to on October 11, 2024 in support of the petitioners’ case
The 54-year-old claimed that there was over-voting in polling unit 011, and added that he was aware that the uploading of results into the IREV took place at the polling unit level.
Upon cross-examination by the lead counsel to the first respondent (INEC), Kanu Agabi, the witness said he made his deposition on October 11, 2024 while the screenshots of INEC’s BIVAS Report he relied on in his statement were certified by INEC on January 8, 2025.
On his part, the PDP agent for Oredo Local Government Area, Aigbe Ighodaro Lucky, told the court that there was over-voting in 66 polling units in the local government area and incorrect scores were entered by INEC for his party in favour of All Progressives Congress (APC) during the election.
Lucky said he relied on INEC documents to arrive at his statement on oath and adopted the same as evidence in the petition.
He also told the tribunal that there were no prior recordings of serial numbers of sensitive materials deployed for the election in the local government area in INEC’s Form EC25B.
For Adekunle Oboh, PDP Local Government Area Collation Agent in Esan Central, there were irregularities in 23 polling units in the area during the election.
Oboh also told the court in his testimonies that there were no prior recordings of serial numbers of sensitive materials deployed to some polling units in the area in Form EC25B.
He said the polling units’ result sheets were signed by his party’s agents up to the ward level before he signed Form EC8C.
He admitted that all the Forms EC8A (result sheets) were counter-signed by INEC presiding officers, and submitted that the documents he personally examined based on his witness deposition were obtained from INEC by his party.
Wilson Ibhawa, the petitioners’ Esan South East Local Government Area Collation Agent, said there was no prior recording of serial numbers sensitive materials used in the election in Form EC25B in five polling units in his area.
While raising objections to the admissibility of the documents tendered in court, counsel to the respondents deferred their reasons to the address stage of the petition.
Similarly, Destiny Enabulele, a 48-year-old development worker who appeared as a witness in Ovia South West Local Government Area, presented by PDP, sought leave of the tribunal to correct some errors in his witness deposition before adopting the same. However, this did not get the approval of the respondent’s counsel, who objected.
Moses Agbukor, 54, told the tribunal to disregard paragraphs 13 and 14 in his witness deposition, as it was inserted in error, which was objected to by counsel to the respondents because of the line of presentation.
Baba Odenobemhe, the sixth witness for the petitioners, also sought leave of the tribunal to correct some errors in his witness deposition before adopting the same.
Chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, admitted the documents as oral evidence as exhibits, provisionally, pending the arguments of the respondent’s counsel in their final written address.
Kpochi adjourned the sitting to today, Friday, January 24, for the continuation of the hearing.
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