The credibility of the Edo State governorship election was called into question on Wednesday at the Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja when a key witness for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Afuda Theophilus, acknowledged that over-voting took place in Esan North East Local Government Area.
This admission directly contradicted his earlier sworn statement that no such irregularities occurred.
During cross-examination, Theophilus initially maintained that there were no cases of over-voting, but when presented with official polling unit results, he was compelled to accept that the total number of votes cast exceeded the number of accredited voters.
“This shows there was over-voting?” asked Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), lead counsel for Asue Ighodalo.
“Yes,” Theophilus admitted before attempting to provide an explanation.
Further scrutiny of electoral documents revealed additional lapses.
When questioned about Form EC25B, the document required by INEC for recording the serial numbers of sensitive election materials before voting, Theophilus confirmed its importance.
Owonikoko referred to the INEC Manual for Election Officials, emphasizing that Form EC25B was meant to document serial numbers for result sheets and ballot papers. The witness agreed.
However, when shown the actual Form EC25Bs from the election, he acknowledged that they were incomplete, lacking serial numbers, signatures, and other identifying details.
“There is no entry of serial numbers of result sheets or the BVAS machine. Can you confirm?” Owonikoko pressed.
“I can’t find it…” Theophilus hesitated before conceding.
When further questioned about the missing serial numbers, he finally admitted, “Yes, they are not there.”
Following these revelations, opposition representative Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor argued that the testimony highlighted critical irregularities in INEC’s management of the election, further undermining the credibility of the results.
“Our legal team has 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,” he stated.
With its own witness inadvertently reinforcing the opposition’s claims, the APC’s defense appears increasingly vulnerable.
