Edo: Supreme Court reserves verdict on Ighodalo’s case against Okpebholo

Okpebholo

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, reserved its judgement on an appeal that is seeking to nullify the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State.

The appeal, marked: SC/CV/536/2025, was brought before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate in the governorship election held in the state on September 21, 2024, Asuerinme Ighodalo.

The Appellants are praying the court to set aside the May 29 judgement of the Court of Appeal which dismissed their case and affirmed Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest.

PDP and its candidate maintained that the appellate court failed to properly evaluate the case they filed to challenge the outcome of the election which they insisted was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.

A five-member panel of justices of the Supreme Court adjourned to deliver judgement in the matter after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.

While the PDP and its candidate prayed the court to upturn the concurrent decision of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, on the other hand, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; governor Okpebholo and the APC, urged the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the outcome of the election.

The apex court panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, said it would communicate the judgement date to the parties.

It will be recalled that a three-member panel of the Appeal Court, led by Justice M. A. Danjuma, declined to nullify Governor Okpebholo’s election.

The appellate court held that it found no reason to dislodge the May 15 judgement of the tribunal which validated the result of the election announced by the INEC.