Edo Election Tribunal Delays Proceedings as INEC Witnesses Fail to Appear

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has postponed further proceedings until February 6 after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to present its five witnesses as scheduled.

INEC was set to begin its defense regarding the conduct of the September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election on February 5. However, the commission informed the Tribunal that its witnesses had been delayed during their journey from Benin City. As a result, INEC’s legal counsel, Abdullahi Aliyu, presented three documents in a bid to make some progress during the proceedings, despite the absence of the witnesses.

The documents tendered included the Certified True Copies of the Collation of Results at the State level (Form EC8D), the declaration of results, and the 2022 election regulations and guidelines.

Though the documents were accepted, INEC assured the Tribunal that it would need just one more day to wrap up its defense, requesting a brief adjournment to February 6.

The Tribunal’s chairman, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, expressed dissatisfaction with INEC’s handling of the situation, noting that the entire day’s proceedings had been wasted. However, INEC’s legal team defended its position, stating that it still had ample time, given the ten-day window for its defense.

Adetunji Oyeyipo, the counsel for Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), did not object to INEC’s tendering of the documents. He acknowledged that these were the same documents he had already submitted to support his claim that the results of the Edo governorship election were flawed.

The Tribunal has adjourned until February 6 for further proceedings.