Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has had his election victory officially upheld by the Supreme Court, which dismissed the legal challenge filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, a five-judge panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba ruled unanimously that the appeal lacked sufficient merit. The court found no compelling reason to overturn the earlier rulings of the Edo State Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, both of which had previously confirmed Okpebholo’s win in the governorship election conducted on September 21, 2024.
The Supreme Court held that the PDP failed to present clear, credible evidence to support its claims of electoral misconduct, including alleged cases of over-voting and failure to comply with the Electoral Act. The justices pointed out that most of the documents submitted were not backed up with live testimony, particularly those related to the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
Justice Garba noted that the appellants relied heavily on documents that were not properly explained or connected to specific polling unit violations. He added that the PDP did not call key witnesses, such as polling agents or voters, who could have validated their claims of irregularities.
“The burden of proof lies with the petitioner, and in this case, it was not adequately discharged,” Justice Garba declared in his lead judgment.
The case, filed under reference SC/CV/536/2025, had sought to overturn the May 29 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed Okpebholo’s victory. Ighodalo and the PDP argued that the election process was flawed and that they should be declared winners based on the valid votes cast.
On the opposing side, INEC, Governor Okpebholo, and the APC maintained that the election was free, fair, and credible, and urged the court to uphold the results. The final judgment was delivered after all parties submitted their arguments and adopted their briefs on July 2.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling, both the tribunal and the appellate court had rejected multiple petitions challenging the election outcome. The tribunal, headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, also dismissed suits filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and the Accord Party, in addition to that of the PDP.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Okpebholo received 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo who polled 247,655 votes. The PDP subsequently filed a petition challenging the result, alleging that votes were wrongly tallied in 765 polling units and that INEC failed to follow due procedure in handling election materials.
They also submitted BVAS machines used in 133 polling units and called 19 witnesses to support their claim that the election results were manipulated at the collation stage. However, the tribunal ruled that the evidence lacked proper demonstration and that many of the witnesses gave secondhand, or hearsay, testimony.
The tribunal emphasized that the petitioners had not brought forward essential witnesses such as presiding officers or voters from the affected polling units, weakening their case. It also dismissed the claim that INEC failed to properly document election materials, noting that no proof was presented to show that such omissions affected the election’s outcome.
With Thursday’s Supreme Court decision, Governor Monday Okpebholo’s position as Edo State’s elected leader has been firmly and finally validated.
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