The Independent National Electoral Commission has failed to present its witnesses before the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
At the tribunal’s resumed sitting on Thursday, the electoral body didn’t field any witness to defend its declaration of the All Progressives Congress and its candidate, Monday Okpebholo, as the winner of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
Through its team of lawyers led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi (SAN), INEC told the tribunal that it would not produce any witness to testify on its behalf.
Agabi, made the disclosure barely 24 hours after the Commission told the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led panel that it had a line-up of five witnesses that would give evidence to support the result it declared in favour of the governor.
INEC had 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 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 told the tribunal.
On their part, the People’s Democratic Party 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, Adetunji Oyeyipo, stated.
Following the absence of INEC witnesses and closure of their case, counsels to Governor Okpebholo, Onyechi Ikpeazu, and D. C. Dewigwe, who represented the APC, said they were not opposed to INEC’s decision and pleaded for an adjournment to enable them to gather their witnesses and open their cases respectively.
Consequently, the panel adjourned the matter till Monday for Governor Okpebholo to open his defence to the petition.
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.
