A purported copy of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s judgment has surfaced online, just a day after the tribunal summoned all parties to appear for the official ruling.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had previously reserved its judgment on March 3, 2025, in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
The petition challenges the outcome of the September 21, 2024, Edo governorship election, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo, who secured 247,655 votes.
On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the tribunal directed all parties to return the following day for the official judgment delivery.
However, according to reports by Vanguard, a leaked document purportedly revealing the tribunal’s decision emerged online, showing a split ruling among the justices.
The leaked judgment indicates a two-to-one split among the justices.
According to the Vanguard report, Majority Judgment indicates that Justices Wilfred Kpochi and A.B. Yusuf dismissed the petition, ruling that while there was evidence of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the petitioners failed to prove that these irregularities substantially affected the election’s outcome.
Also, the Minority Judgment indicates Justice A.A. Adewole dissented, arguing that the election was invalid due to significant non-compliance and ordered the issuance of a fresh Certificate of Return to Ighodalo of the PDP as the legitimate winner.
Justice Adewole asserted that Ighodalo and the PDP provided evidence demonstrating that the correct tally should have been: 243,113 votes for Ighodalo and 210,326 votes for Okpebholo.
This would have reversed the declared election result in favor of Ighodalo. The dissenting justice noted that the petitioners’ claims were not sufficiently rebutted and that they demonstrated how incorrect collation and vote exclusions affected the outcome.
Justice Kpochi, in the majority ruling in the leaked document acknowledged irregularities such as failure to record serial numbers in EC 25B forms and incidents of over-voting.
However, he maintained that the petitioners did not provide sufficient mathematical or documentary evidence to show that these issues had substantially impacted the election result.
“The petitioners have not discharged the dual burden to the satisfaction of the law. Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” the majority judgment stated.
With the official ruling expected on April 2, 2025, the leak has already sparked widespread debate and speculation about the tribunal’s final decision.
Political analysts and stakeholders await the tribunal’s official pronouncement, which could either confirm the leaked document or present a different verdict.