The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, yesterday, continued its proceedings with the testimony of three witnesses called by the petitioners, Dr. Asue Ighodalo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who are challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
First to testify was WW1M/9, Eseigbe Victor, a farmer and politician from Akoko Edo Local Council. Led in evidence by petitioners’ counsel, Ken Mozia, the witness identified and confirmed the submission of Form EC8A for 28 polling units, including certified copies and agents’ copies as exhibits.
During cross-examination, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kanu Agabi, questioned the authenticity of the witness’s role, noting that he had not signed Form EC8B for Ward 9, which is used for ward collation.
He said: “Since you did not sign, what proof do you have that you were a ward collation officer?” Agabi asked, and the witness responded that he noticed irregularities, which led him to refrain from signing the document.
Agabi further pressed on the validity of his testimony, emphasising that he had not personally documented any of the election reports. The discrepancies in accreditation figures emerged when APC’s counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, pointed out contradictions between figures recorded in Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) reports and those declared by INEC.
For instance, while the witness cited 71 accredited voters in Unit 001 of Ward 1, BVAS reports showed 252 accredited voters. Similarly, Unit 003 had 262 registered voters, but only 116 were reflected in BVAS records.
Emmanuel Ukala, representing Okpebholo, raised further concerns about inconsistencies in the document. He noted that some tendered exhibits, such as Forms EC8B and EC8C, contained figures that did not correspond with their counterparts in Form EC8A.
“Can you confirm if the figures in Form EC8B match those in EC8A?” Ukala asked.
The witness responded: “It is the incorrect figures that we complained about.”
The defence also questioned whether BVAS and hard copies were presented for reconciliation at the ward level. The witness confirmed that they were but that there was no proper compilation.
During the proceedings, Mozia sought to tender the witness’s agent tag as proof of his role in the Edo State Governorship Election.
However, Agabi and other defence counsel objected to the tendering of the document, arguing that it had not been previously mentioned in the witness’s testimony.
Despite the objection, the tribunal chaired by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, ruled in favour of the petitioners and admitted the agent’s tag as evidence. In his evidence, another witness, Oyigwe Imasue, a PDP agent from Oredo Local Council, confirmed that a certified true copy of an election result was included in his witness statement.
However, the defence counsel, led by Kanu Agabi for INEC, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu for APC, and Emmanuel Ukala for Okpebholo, subjected the witness to rigorous scrutiny.
Agabi questioned Imasue’s credibility and role in the collation process. He asked the witness if he signed the Ward 1 result sheet and the witness answered in the negative.
When asked whether other party agents and the presiding officers signed the results, the witness confirmed that they did. However, he admitted that the word ‘BVAS’ was not mentioned in the documents presented.
Dr. Ikpeazu (APC Counsel) attempted to test the credibility of the witness by asking him to sign a document for comparison, but the petitioners’ counsel objected, requesting time to present their arguments.
Further cross-examination of the witness revealed contradictions in the witness’ account of the collation process. The third witness was a subpoenaed witness from the 1st Respondent, INEC, who produced BVAS machines used in 133 polling units. The witness said he produced 148 BVAs machines and other electoral material used.
