The Edo Election Petition Tribunal granted the request of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, to inspect all election materials used in the September 21 governorship election.
The order was issued on Monday by the tribunal’s Chairman, Justice W.I. Kpochi, following an ex-parte motion filed by Ighodalo and the party.
The ex-parte motion, dated September 27, was submitted by Rotimi O. Ogunseso, SAN, with Seun Olusuyi serving as counsel for the applicants. The petition included affidavits sworn by Osasere Adagbonyin.
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In the ruling, the tribunal granted all the petitioners’ requests. A Certified True Copy of the order, signed by the tribunal’s Secretary, Mauzu Ibrahim, instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to produce and provide all materials used during the election.
The tribunal specifically ordered the release of various forms, including EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E, EC25B, and EC25B(i), among others.
Additionally, forms EC40A, EC40C, EC40G, and EC40G(i) related to the gubernatorial election were included in the order.
The court also mandated INEC to supply polling unit results, including the Forms EC8A uploaded to its IREV portal, the list of accredited agents for all participating political parties, the voters’ register for each polling unit, and the total number of BVAS machines deployed, along with their serial numbers matched to specific polling units.
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Further, the tribunal required the production of statements and reports on the number of accredited voters recorded and extracted directly from the BVAS machines at all polling units.
It also ordered INEC to provide records of polling units where election results were not uploaded to the INEC IREV portal as of September 22, the day results were announced.
Additionally, the tribunal directed that records regarding the posting of INEC ad hoc staff for the 4,519 polling units, as well as the number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected in each polling unit, be made available to the applicants.
Speaking to reporters at the INEC office in Benin, Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, stated that they were present to follow up on the court’s order and to facilitate the inspection of electoral materials.
Jolaawo emphasized, “We came here today in furtherance of the tribunal order we obtained on September 29, 2024, to gather materials that will strengthen our petition.”
“Now, when we got here today, we were not able to get audience with the REC but we were able to see the head of legal unit, who told us that they were preparing a schedule for our inspection.
“The risk involved is obvious to everybody, and the time expires on Saturday for us to file our petition and today is Monday, ” he said.
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