The long-drawn legal tussle over the 2024 Edo State governorship election has come to an end as the Supreme Court, on Thursday, affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected governor of the state.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, dismissed the appeal filed by Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing it as lacking in merit.
Ighodalo and the PDP had urged the court to overturn the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Okpebholo as winner, citing widespread electoral irregularities during the September 21, 2024 poll.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that the petitioners failed to provide convincing evidence to back their claims. “The appeal is unmeritorious and is hereby dismissed,” Justice Garba ruled, ending months of intense political and legal drama that gripped the state.
Earlier on April 2, the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal had also dismissed the case, stating that the petitioners were unable to substantiate their allegations. In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the tribunal noted that the PDP and Ighodalo did not call competent witnesses to support the averments in their petition.
“The petitioners merely made allegations without credible proof. No competent witnesses were called to establish irregularities or any substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act,” Justice Kpochi had declared at the time.
Unwilling to concede, the petitioners escalated the matter to the Court of Appeal, where they also met defeat.
The appellate court upheld the tribunal’s decision, stressing the importance of presenting verifiable evidence in electoral disputes.
