Tension Soars As Supreme Court Suspends Edo Guber Judgment Indefinitely

The Supreme Court has indefinitely postponed its ruling in the legal dispute over the Edo State governorship election, which resulted in the emergence of Senator Monday Obekpolo as governor.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Following Thursday’s proceedings, during which legal representatives for all involved parties presented their arguments, the apex court announced that the final judgment would be delivered at an unspecified future date. A new date, it said, would be communicated in due course.

The case before the court was brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who is seeking to overturn Obekpolo’s victory. Represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ken Mozia, Ighodalo argued that he secured the majority of valid votes and should have been declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mozia urged the court to nullify the declaration of Obekpolo as governor, insisting the lawful votes cast favored his client.

INEC, represented by Kanu Agabi (SAN), contested the appeal and called for its dismissal, describing it as lacking merit. Agabi noted that the PDP had initially rejected the election results in their petition, calling the process “unlawful and invalid” for allegedly violating provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

“You cannot condemn an election and still seek to benefit from its outcome,” Agabi told the court. “Their position is contradictory. If the election is truly invalid, then no one can be validly returned as winner.”

INEC further argued that the PDP’s claims were inconsistent and urged the court to uphold the election of Senator Obekpolo.

The five-member panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, after listening to both sides, stated:
“This matter is adjourned sine die. A date for the judgment will be communicated to all the parties involved.”