INEC, police indicted as fresh investigation reveals widespread rigging in 2024 Edo guber

The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has published a bombshell report alleging massive irregularities in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election, which declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.

According to the report, the election was marred by voter suppression, violence, and result falsification, allegedly orchestrated by APC leaders with the complicity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.

Central to the report are claims of glaring irregularities in Etsako West Local Government Area, a known APC stronghold led by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

In the area, the APC purportedly secured 32,107 votes against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s 17,483 votes. However, FIJ discovered that the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the collation results from the area, obtained by the PDP, was labelled as a “Replacement Copy” and lacked INEC’s official stamp, unlike similar documents from other LGAs.

The credibility of the election in Etsako West was further tarnished by an incident at the Auchi Council Hall on September 22, when gunfire disrupted the collation process.

In the chaos, the deputy chairman of the local government, Benji Ojietu, was shot and later alleged that the police orchestrated the attack, leading to the loss of key electoral documents.

The FIJ investigation implicates several high-ranking APC members in the alleged electoral malpractice. Dennis Idahosa, now Edo State’s deputy governor, is accused of coordinating voter suppression in PDP-dominated areas and influencing INEC officials during the collation of results.

Another APC figure, Nosa Adams from Egor Local Government, allegedly played a pivotal role in altering results to favour the APC. Both men reportedly exploited their political clout to subvert the electoral process.

INEC was also criticised in the report, which noted that despite mandating the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for electronic transmission of results, manual collation was employed in numerous polling units, creating opportunities for manipulation.

INEC was further accused of defying court orders to release critical election materials, frustrating the PDP’s legal efforts to contest the results.

The alleged irregularities were not confined to Etsako West. In Ikpoba Okha’s Oregbeni Ward, results were inexplicably cancelled despite 10,928 voters being accredited. Additionally, reports of over-voting—where total votes exceeded accredited voter counts—surfaced across the state.

In many PDP strongholds, violence reportedly played a key role, with armed thugs intimidating voters, disrupting polling units, and snatching ballot boxes, allegedly with the tacit approval of security forces.

The PDP has since filed a legal petition challenging the results, citing widespread irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.