Edo election tribunal: APC witness admits over-voting, INEC flaws
The credibility of the Edo State governorship election suffered a major setback at the Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday when a key witness for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Afuda Theophilus, admitted under cross-examination that over-voting occurred in Esan North East Local Government Area—directly contradicting his sworn testimony.
Theophilus, who had been presented by the APC to defend the election’s integrity, initially asserted in his written witness statement that there were no incidents of over-voting. However, when confronted with official polling unit results, he conceded that the total number of votes cast exceeded the number of accredited voters.
“This shows there was over-voting?” Asue Ighodalo’s lead counsel, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), asked.
“Yes,” Theophilus replied, before attempting to offer an explanation.
His testimony became even more damaging when he was questioned about Form EC25B, the INEC-prescribed document for recording the serial numbers of sensitive election materials before voting. Referring to the INEC Manual for Election Officials, Owonikoko asked him to confirm that Form EC25B was the required document for documenting the serial numbers of result sheets and ballot papers. Theophilus agreed.
However, when presented with the actual Form EC25Bs used during the election, he was forced to acknowledge that they had not been filled in—lacking serial numbers, signatures, or any 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 hesitantly responded.
When pressed further to confirm that the serial numbers were missing, he admitted, “Yes, they are not there.”
Reacting to the revelations, Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, speaking on behalf of the opposition, stated that the testimony exposed serious irregularities in INEC’s handling of the election and raised major doubts about 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 remarked.
With its own witness inadvertently strengthening the opposition’s case, the APC’s defence appears increasingly fragile. The tribunal’s ruling on these revelations could have significant consequences for the outcome of the governorship election.
