The Edo Election Petition Tribunal, on Friday upheld the
election of Mr Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as
governor of Edo.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Ahmed Badamasi-led three member
tribunal, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as lacking in merit.
Badamasi held that the petitioners failed in all fronts to
prove the allegations as pleaded in their petitions.
The petitioners have failed to prove their case with credible
evidence and is therefore dismissed,’’ he said.
The tribunal held that while the petitioners abandoned some of
their pleadings, “witnesses evidences were controverted under cross
examination’’.
The much talked about ticking and over voting by the petitioners
have not be specifically proved beyond reasonable doubts.
And not calling witnesses to prove their allegations of corrupt
practices and over voting was fatal to their case and is deemed to have
abandoned their pleadings,’’ he held.
Badamasi therefore held that “the petitioners have failed to
prove their case with credible evidence to show that they are entitled to their
pleadings’’.
Accordingly, the petition has failed and is hereby dismissed,’’
he said.
The petitioners had listed INEC, Obaseki and the APC as first,
second and third respondents.
Ize-Iyamu had asked the tribunal to nullify the election of
Obaseki and declare him winner, having scored majority of the lawful votes cast
among other reliefs.
He avvered that INEC was wrong to had declared Obaseki winner of
the Sept. 28 governorship election.
Ize-Iyamu also alleged that the election was fraught with
corrupt practices and over voting.
He added that INEC did not comply with the relevant provisions
of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) in the conduct of the said election.
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