Edo Tribunal Shockwave: Legal Precedents and Political Fallout Explained

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal's decision was rejected by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which called it a miscarriage of justice that rewarded election malfeasance while ignoring strong evidence.

The PDP claimed to be even more certain that the Tribunal had "turned the law on its head" in order to defend what it called a fraudulent election process after seeing the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the ruling.

The party claims that instead of fulfilling its constitutional obligation to administer justice, the Tribunal turned into a "fourth respondent," making up excuses to avoid confronting the obvious proof of electoral fraud.

"With all due respect to the judges involved, this ruling is a travesty," stated Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, the Edo State PDP Chairman. However, we remain unfazed. With the facts, the law, and the Edo people's will solidly on our side, we are going to the Court of Appeal.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was accused by the PDP in its appeal of collating manipulated results and violating its own rules in order to sway the election in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The party maintained their candidate, Barrister Asue Ighodalo, won the majority of legitimate votes and should have been declared victorious.

Barrister Anthony Ehilebo, Mr. Ighodalo's Special Adviser on Media, stated, "People do not grasp the gravity of what happened in Edo." "What was essentially an electoral coup was discovered by Tap Initiative. In order to announce their favorite candidate, INEC printed a duplicate set of result papers. Ironically, the actual results are still accessible right now on INEC's own IReV platform.

In a report submitted to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), Tap Initiative called for the prosecution of those responsible, according to Ehilebo. Additionally, he charged INEC with neglecting to fill out paperwork that are essential to maintaining voting integrity—items that the Supreme Court has determined are a strict liability problem.

Many of the result sheets approved by INEC had been filled out by a single person instead of by many presiding officers as required by law, according to a forensic audit that Tap Initiative commissioned.

Numerous civil society organizations and election observers have echoed these assertions. According to the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, INEC's digital systems were breached, enabling the modification of results that were posted. In its post-election statement, Yiaga Africa pointed to "serious lapses in the collation process," while the Foundation for Investigative Journalism said the poll was "rigged for the APC by design."

The international world has also taken notice of the topic. The U.S. Mission in Nigeria said it was closely monitoring the appeal process due to civil society concerns in an unusually open statement. Observers perceived the Mission's emphasis on the importance of due process and transparency for democratic legitimacy as a sign of disagreement of the Tribunal's decision.

According to diplomatic sources, those found to have tampered with judicial independence or weakened the electoral process may be subject to visa restrictions.

The PDP maintains that Asue Ighodalo still has the mandate of the Edo voters in spite of the Tribunal's decision.

The poll's declared winner, Senator Monday Okpebholo, publicly encouraged Ighodalo to "join hands in unity and work together for the progress of Edo State" as a conciliation gesture.

However, the PDP turned down the call.

Party mainstay Goodluck Osaretin stated, "It is premature to issue an olive branch." "We are discussing the recovery of a stolen mandate. Without justice, there can be no peace.

Osaretin went on, "Asue is coming." "We are certain that no Tribunal, no matter how composed or compromised, can stop the will of the people, just like the governors of Zamfara, Plateau, Osun, Kano, and Bayelsa who lost at the Tribunal but regained their mandates at the Supreme Court."