By Jude Opara
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has closed its case before the Edo State governorship election tribunal without presenting a witness.
INEC’s legal counsel formally moved to close its case without presenting any witnesses— a motion accepted by the Tribunal.
The Commission would be relying solely on cross-examinations and arguments from the All Progressives Congress, (APC), and Governor Monday Okpebholo’s lawyers.
The Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), had first mounted a challenge to the election results, accusing INEC of orchestrating widespread irregularities and vote manipulation.
Leveraging the 2022 Electoral Act, the 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.
Testimonies from PDP witnesses, including local government agents and an expert witness (PW12), detailed systemic manipulation during result collation.
It would be recalled that the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja had on Wednesday adjourned further proceedings till today, February 6, at the instance of the INEC, whose five witnesses were not in court.
INEC was billed to begin its defense on the conduct of the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial poll but came to the Tribunal with information that its witnesses have been held up.
Counsel to the electoral body, Abdullahi Aliyu, informed the Tribunal that the five listed witnesses were held up on their trip from Benin City and opted to tender three documents in order to make a semblance of progress in the day’s proceedings.
