By Deborah Nnamdi
A likely judgment of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has surfaced online just a day before the official verdict is set to be delivered.
The tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, is to officially declare the judgment of the court on Wednesday, following an announcement on Tuesday.
Kpochi-led panel had earlier reserved its decision on March 3, 2025, in response to a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the results of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
The leaked documents indicate a two-to-one ruling, with Justice Kpochi and Justice A.B. Yusuf dismissing the petition, while Justice A.A. Adewole issued a dissenting judgment in favor of Ighodalo.
In the leaked minority judgment, Justice Adewole argued that the election did not comply substantially with the Electoral Act. He stated that the petitioners provided sufficient evidence to prove that the actual vote tally should have been 243,113 for Ighodalo and 210,326 for Okpebholo, which would have changed the declared outcome.
“The petitioners’ case was not rebutted, and they showed unit by unit how the actual total should be 243,113 votes, while the 2nd Respondent’s tally should stand at 210,326 votes—a clear reversal of the declared result,” Justice Adewole was quoted as saying in the leaked documents.
In contrast, the majority ruling by Justice Kpochi acknowledged that there were irregularities, such as missing serial numbers in EC 25B forms and over-voting. However, he concluded that these issues did not substantially affect the election results.
“The petitioners have not discharged the dual burden to the satisfaction of the law. Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” the majority judgment stated.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously declared Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner, with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo of the PDP, who secured 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Ighodalo and the PDP challenged the result at the tribunal, arguing that the election was marred by non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
