Edo Election Tribunal: Drama As INEC Close Case, Fails To Present Witnesses Amid Allegations Of Vote Manipulation

In a stunning turn of events 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.

Naijaonpoint learnt that INEC’s legal team formally moved to close its case without presenting any witnesses, a motion accepted by the Tribunal.

This unexpected decision leaves INEC relying solely on cross-examinations and legal arguments from APC and Governor Okpebholo’s defense teams.

PDP’s Case: Allegations Of Irregularities And Rigging

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had launched a fierce legal challenge, accusing INEC of orchestrating widespread electoral fraud to ensure Okpebholo’s victory.

Leveraging the 2022 Electoral Act, PDP’s legal team has prioritized documentary evidence over oral testimony, focusing on key provisions:

– Section 137 of the Electoral Act prioritizes documentary evidence over oral testimony, reinforcing PDP’s strategy.

– Section 73(2) mandates the nullification of results in polling units where ballot paper and BVAS serial numbers were not pre-recorded.

– BVAS Data Admitted as Evidence

The Tribunal has already admitted critical BVAS machines as evidence, devices that the PDP argues will expose over-voting and discrepancies in the declared results.

Multiple PDP witnesses, including local government election agents and expert witness PW12, provided testimony detailing how results were allegedly manipulated at the collation stage.

Additionally, independent election monitoring groups, such as Athena Centre and TAP Initiative, corroborated the PDP’s claims of election malpractice, further denting INEC’s credibility.

INEC’s failure to present witnesses follows explosive revelations from an undercover investigation by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).

The FIJ report accused INEC of inflating votes for the APC, strengthening the PDP’s argument that the election was not free, fair, or credible.