By John Mayaki
This is public service journalism – an effort to immediately enlighten those who still believe that they have a case to pursue at the Appeal Court – that they should not be carried away – there is no case, whatsoever.
This is the more reason I have taken it upon myself to break down the tribunal’s verdict into its simplest form before they waste their resources waiting for a “Joy” that will never come.
Now, let me first of all, clear the issue of the “leaked” judgement which suggested that the decision of the tribunal was split, with two judges upholding Governor Monday Okpebholo’s victory and one dissenting. It is now clear and this is official, that the judgement was unanimous, as against the “cooked” up document. The tribunal dismissed Asue Ighodalo and PDP’s petition in its entirety, infact it was “deleted”.
Now, let me delve into the substantive issues – the tribunal said that the petitioners – Ighodalo and the PDP, failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with electoral laws. And the tribunal was unequivocal about this – that the burden of proof rests on the petitioners and not INEC or the respondents. Am sure you all can remember how Ighodalo blamed INEC and APC for not calling witnesses. Here is the verdict.
The tribunal held that in election disputes, it is the duty of the petitioners to substantiate claims of malpractice, and not the other way round. And as such, the PDP and Ighodalo were required to prove that Senator Monday Okpebholo was wrongly declared the winner by INEC but they failed woefully to do so. And unfortunately, it is too late to do this at the Appellate Court. You cannot cry when you have no head.
Did you also see how Ighodalo’s evidence crumbled at the tribunal yesterday? I saw it. Here you go – the tribunal wasn’t happy with Ighodalo over how he presented his evidence. He did not present polling unit agents, ward agents, or registered voters who witnessed the alleged irregularities but merely paraded “them say, them say” witnesses. If you like, call them “amebo” or “bear-palour” witnesses. This is a disservice to the tribunal and time wasting that should have attracted huge fines.
The tribunal ruled that the witnesses brought forward – local government agents and others were “total strangers” to the polling units in dispute. Imagine, what is the business of strangers in the courtroom? This is not funny.
The other issue was the dumping of documents on the tribunal without substantiating witnesses – am sure you all remember the interview granted by the APC state chairman, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, warning them of the dangers of turning the tribunal to a “dumping ground”. Now, you can all see the result – debilitating and fatal blow. Next time, am sure they will listen to Emperor.
Of course, the tribunal condemned the “dumping” of these documents such as BVAS machines and election result sheets without calling competent witnesses to link them to their claims. Hear the tribunal chairman, “documents do not speak for themselves”. Am sure Ighodalo heard that audibly.
Again, on the “dormant” and “useless” BVAS machines, the tribunal said Ighodalo failed to demonstrate their contents in court. Hear what the chairman said, “the BVAS machines were clearly dumped and remained dormant. They were not demonstrated at trial, or did any witness testify on their content”. What Ighodalo brought them to do in court is what I am yet to comprehend.
That’s not all – the failure of Ighodalo to render essential documents also “corrupted” his case. The tribunal said to prove over-voting, Ighodalo must present three critical documents – voter register, BVAS machine data, and form EC8A (polling unit result sheet).
Sadly, the tribunal found out that Ighodalo failed to provide the above mentioned documents in full but relying instead on mere screenshots of BVAS data rather than the actual devices. Hear the tribunal again, “how do you prove over-voting if you don’t even know the number of registered voters?” The tribunal chairman questioned Ighodalo.
That’s not all, the tribunal is not done lampooning and lambasting Ighodalo and PDP, there are more to come – the court ruled that even if the disputed votes were removed as contended by Ighodalo in his petition, Senator Okpebholo would still have won. And I hope nobody would say he or she wasn’t told this before going to the Appeal Court to waste time and resources.
And, funny enough, and according to the tribunal, Ighodalo attempted to introduce new facts that was not originally pleased in their petition, and which were later struck out by the court. I only hope this is not their gameplan when they boasted to appeal the case. When I wrote the other day that their case was dead on arrival, they called me several names my parents didn’t and never endorse, today, the results are clear.
And so, Ighodalo and PDP’s case, was in every sense, a dead end. The tribunal found no credible evidence of over-voting, malpractices, or non-compliance. A baseless petition that was trashed in the bin after it was “deleted” because it lacked the fundamental elements required to challenge an election outcome.
So, for those of you still nursing the hope of a miracle at the Appeal Court, this is your reality check. The tribunal has spoken and it is very clear. The case is closed. If Ighodalo wants to join the Edo Central Senatorial race, as I earlier advised him, he is free to try his luck. I do not also guarantee him victory though. I wish him the very best.
