Edo Election Tribunal: APC Esan North East LG Witness Admits Over-Voting, INEC Irregularities
The credibility of the Edo State governorship election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) took a major hit at the tribunal yesterday when Afuda Theophilus, a key witness for the All Progressives Congress (APC), admitted under cross-examination that over-voting occurred in Esan North East LGA—directly contradicting his sworn testimony.
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Theophilus, who was presented by APC to defend the election’s integrity, initially claimed in his sworn witness statement that there were no incidents of over-voting. However, when confronted with polling unit results, he was forced to concede that the total number of votes exceeded the number of accredited voters.
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“This shows there was over-voting?” Asue Ighodalo’s lead counsel, Owonikoko SAN, asked.
“Yes,” Theophilus replied, before weakly attempting to explain.
Even more damng was his admission regarding Form EC25B, the INEC-prescribed document for recording the serial numbers of sensitive election materials before voting. When referred to the INEC Manual for Election Officials, Theophilus was asked to confirm the prescribed form for documenting the serial numbers of result sheets and ballot papers. He affirmed that Form EC25B was the required form.
But when presented with the actual Form EC25Bs used in the election, he was forced to acknowledge that they had not been filled—no serial numbers, no signatures, no identifying details.
“There is no entry of serial numbers of result sheets or the BVAS machine. Can you confirm?” Owonikoko asked.
“I can’t find it…” Theophilus hesitated.
“Can you confirm that they are not there?”
“Yes, they are not there,” he finally admitted.
Hon. Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, who spoke to the Press, stated that the revelations expose glaring irregularities in INEC’s handling of the election and raise serious doubts about the credibility of the results. “Our legal team have argued that failure to complete Form EC25B alone constitutes non-compliance with electoral guidelines, invalidating results from affected polling units. This is the law, it is not my opinion. It is a strict liability issue; and once again we are grateful to the APC for sending us such honest witnesses”.
With its own witness unwittingly providing ammunition to the opposition, APC’s defense appears increasingly shaky. The tribunal’s ruling on these revelations could have far-reaching consequences for the governorship election outcome.
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Source: Legit.ng
