In an extraordinary twist at the Edo 2024 Governorship Election Tribunal, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has failed to call any witnesses to defend itself against allegations that it colluded with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the election in favour of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
The shocking development came after INEC’s legal counsel formally moved to close its case without presenting any witnesses—a motion accepted by the Tribunal, reports Daily Independent.
This abrupt end to INEC’s defense leaves the electoral body relying solely on cross-examinations and arguments from APC and Okpebholo’s lawyers, a move legal experts say is fraught with risk.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has mounted a robust challenge to the election results, accusing INEC of orchestrating widespread irregularities and vote manipulation. Leveraging the 2022 Electoral Act, PDP’s legal team focused heavily on documentary evidence rather than oral testimony.
Key provisions of the Act—such as Section 137, which prioritizes documentary evidence over oral testimony, and Section 73(2), which mandates the nullification of results in polling units where ballot paper and BVAS serial numbers were not pre-recorded—form the crux of the PDP’s petition.
The Tribunal has already admitted critical BVAS machines into evidence, devices the PDP claims will expose over-voting and discrepancies in the declared results. Testimonies from PDP witnesses, including local government agents and an expert witness (PW12), detailed systemic manipulation during result collation. Independent monitors, such as Athena Centre and TAP Initiative, have corroborated these claims, further denting INEC’s credibility.
By opting not to call witnesses, INEC appears to be taking a gamble, leaving its defense in the hands of APC and Governor Okpebholo’s legal teams. Analysts suggest this approach could backfire, as INEC must now contend with its own certified records and the BVAS data, which the PDP argues clearly contradict the declared results.
This development follows revelations from an undercover investigation by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), which alleged INEC’s complicity in inflating votes for the APC. The report, combined with the PDP’s evidence and legal precedent, paints a damning picture of the electoral body’s role in the disputed election.
