By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The people of Edo State have been thrown into confusion as documents claiming to be the judgment of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal surfaced online on Tuesday, a day before the Tribunal is officially set to deliver its judgment in the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo, and his party, challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo in the 21st September 2024 governorship election held in the state.
The three-member Tribunal, headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had, on 3rd March, reserved judgment in the petition after parties adopted their final written addresses.
The leaked ‘judgment,’ which appeared on social media on Tuesday, shows a split decision among the three-member panel of the Tribunal.
According to the documents, two of the Justices, Kpochi and A.B. Yusuf, in their judgment, dismissed the petition, while Justice A.A. Adewole delivered a minority judgment in favour of Ighodalo and his party.
In the leaked minority judgment, Justice Adewole argued that Governor Monday Okpebholo’s election should be nullified due to significant violations of the Electoral Act.
He claimed that Ighodalo and the PDP had provided sufficient proof that their candidate should have received 243,113 votes compared to Okpebholo’s 210,326 votes, which would have changed the outcome of the election.
“The petitioners’ case was not rebutted, and they showed unit by unit how the actual total should be 243,113 votes, while the 2nd Respondent’s tally should stand at 210,326 votes—a clear reversal of the declared result,” Justice Adewole was reported to have held in the document.
On the other hand, the majority decision delivered by Justice Kpochi acknowledged that some irregularities occurred, such as improper documentation of serial numbers in EC 25B forms and cases of over-voting. However, the Tribunal concluded that these issues did not significantly impact the election results.
Justice Kpochi held in the document that, “The petitioners have not discharged the dual burden to the satisfaction of the law. Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo of the APC as the winner of the Edo State governorship election held in September last year.
Dissatisfied with the results, Ighodalo and his party argued at the Tribunal that the election was flawed due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act in its conduct.
In the petition marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, the petitioners questioned the legitimacy of Okpebholo’s victory and insisted that their candidate received the highest number of lawful votes.
The leaked document, surfacing a day before the official date set aside by the Tribunal to deliver judgment in the petition, has sparked debate over whether the final judgment of the Tribunal will align with what has already surfaced online on Tuesday.