Edo Guber Dispute: Social Media Partisan Reporting Shapes Narrative

IN A WEEK TIME by Monday, March 3, 2025, the three-man Election Petitions Tribunal (EPT) looking into alleged malpractice at the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, will preside over the adoption of written addresses by Petitioners and Respondents to the dispute.

At the close of the hearing proper on February 13, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Wilfred Kpochi (with him Justices A.B. Yusuf and A.A. Adewole), gave seven days to the Respondents, and five days to the Plaintiffs to write their addresses, and extra three days each to file their written addresses, for adoption on March 3. The days started counting from Friday, February 14.

The tribunal – which began hearing on January 21, and closed its sitting on January 24 in Benin City, Edo State capital city, over reported security reasons, and relocated to Abuja on January 28 – considers petitions filed by seven political parties against the declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship.

In the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on September 22, 2024, Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) scored 291,667 votes (about 51.1%) to defeat the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Asue Ighodalo (a Lagos-based Lawyer and business magnate), who polled 247,274 votes (about 43.3%).

The PDP, however, claims that those figures were manipulated against Ighodalo, arguing that barring alleged massive anomalies at the poll, Ighodalo defeated Okpebholo, and should be declared as Governor of Edo State.

So, the public focus is on PDP/Ighodalo, who, in their petition, marked, EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, alleged irregularities in the total number of votes cast in many polling units, which reportedly exceeded the accredited voter count recorded by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) that the INEC deployed for the ballot.

Meanwhile, coming from the tribunal is somewhat out-of-place reporting – well, is there anything like that – on social media that’s at best sensational, and at worst partisan, slanted to indicate that APC/Okpebholo are no-hopers, regarding the tons of documentary evidence presented by PDP/Ighodalo, and testified to by their witnesses as a true reflection of the poll.

From the onset of the hearing, social media reports have talked about: “Stunning and explosive revelations… quantum of evidence tendered so far… proceedings intensifying political tension in Edo State… palpable fear in the APC leadership… Oshiomhole storms out in fury… revelations stir intense reactions, and shockwaves in the APC camp… analysts describe allegations as a potential game-changer… all not well with the Edo State APC… Governor Okpebholo feeling the heat… as Ighodalo gains ground… APC leaders hold frantic meetings at Government House… to stem onslaught against the party at the Tribunal.”

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Thus, from January 21 to February 13 – the period covered herein (with a bit of a lull from Monday, February 3 after the Plaintiffs closed their case) – the bombastic headlines and the lead paragraphs or parts thereof were partisan reporting for PDP/Ighodalo. Check below:

• Breaking: 2,840 PDP votes unlawfully excluded by INEC, witness testifies’ (January 21, 2025)
• Edo Tribunal: APC weighs options as tribunal continues to receive massive evidence of electoral fraud’ (January 21, 2025)
• APC lawyers cut short cross-examination as PDP’s witness exposes rigging in Okpebholo’s LGA’ (January 23, 2025)
• Esan North East collation agent narrates how INEC officials altered polling unit results for APC’ (January 23, 2025).
• Edo Gov Poll: Tribunal berates PDP for failure to produce witnesses, as PDP queries 765 of 4,519 polling units in Edo State (January 28, 2025)
• PDP witness stuns tribunal with explosive testimony, Oshiomhole storms out in fury as Ighodalo gains ground’ (January 31, 2025)
• Edo Tribunal: Fear of INEC’s BVAS grips Okpebholo, Oshiomhole’ (February 1, 2025) • ‘Edo Tribunal: Expert witness demolishes APC, Governor Okpebholo as tribunal resumes in Abuja’.
• Witness proves with mathematical accuracy that Asue Ighodalo won the election by the total number of valid votes cast
• Under cross-examination, the witness establishes evidence of over-voting, non-serialisation and incorrect computation of scores by INEC.
• Edo Election Petition Tribunal: APC closes defence amid over-voting admissions, widespread non-compliance with Electoral Act (February 13, 2025).

Now, let’s sample a full report on social media on the tribunal proceedings that’s unabashedly, sensational, partisan, unnuanced and unbalanced, reflecting only one side to the electoral dispute, as follows:

“Over the week, it has been a floodgate of expositions of electoral fraud at the tribunal. On 21st January, a PDP witness and LGA collation agent revealed and tendered copious evidence on how INEC unlawfully excluded a total of 2,840 votes scored by the PDP candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, in 76 polling units (PUs) in Ward 2, Ikpoba Okha LGA.

“Similarly, the LGA collation agent for Akoko Edo LGA disclosed that there was over-voting in 8 polling units, as INEC BVAS report of accreditation and other certified documents showed clearly that the total number of votes cast and declared by INEC in result sheets Forms EC8A are over the total accreditation figures captured by BVAS in 8 polling units in Akoko Edo LGA.

“In the same vein, the LGA collation agent for Owan West LGA led documentary evidence in proof to show how INEC breached its own Manual and Guidelines, including the Electoral Act 2022, by their failure and inability to record serial numbers and particulars of all sensitive materials deployed for the guber election in seven (7) polling units in Owan West LGA.

“The failure of INEC to record the serial numbers and other particulars of result sheets, as shown through forms EC25B and EC40A, renders the election in the affected polling units invalid, for failure to comply with the requirement of prior recording.

“Fresh facts emanating from proceedings have now laid bare more reasons why the APC was desperate to prevent PDP witnesses from testifying at the Tribunal with their evidence. This is as it has been shown clearly that Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa only won his ward through fraudulent means.

“During his testimony at the Tribunal, the LGA collation agent for Ovia South West LGA, relying on INEC certified CTC copies of result sheets Form EC8A-C in the area, original IReV results, CTCs of BVAS accreditation report, among other document extracts, was able to show that the total number of votes cast far exceeded the total number of accredited voters in many polling units in Idahosa’s Ward 2 and Ovia South West LGA. The Electoral Act states clearly that any unit where over-voting is established will be cancelled.

“These developments and the quantum of evidence tendered so far have struck palpable fear such that APC leaders are now holding frantic meetings at Government House, to find a way forward to stem the onslaught against the APC at the Tribunal.

“Apparently, all efforts by the APC chairman and its leadership to intimidate and prevent witnesses from testifying and the evidence from being tendered have proved abortive, hence the sense of despair within the fold.

“As the proceedings continue, with Edo people and Nigerians at large watching with keen interest, it is clear that thuggery and brigandage can never take the place of solid evidence which is now unravelling before the court.

And now, let’s sample a counter-reporting – not on social media but based on the same tribunal proceedings – that’s not wholesale sensational, partisan and one-sided, but nuanced and balanced, reflecting both sides to the electoral dispute, as follows:

“On Tuesday, January 21, at the resumed hearing of PDP/Ighodalo’s petition, the PDP collation agent for Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area (LGA) in Edo South senatorial district, who appeared as first Prosecution Witness (PW1), alleged that INEC unlawfully excluded 2,840 votes scored by Ighodalo in 76 polling units in Ward 2 of Ikpoba Okha.

“To substantiate claims of deliberate vote exclusion, the witness submitted Certified True Copies (CTCs) of result sheets obtained from INEC’s IReV portal and duplicate copies of Form EC8A issued to polling unit agents, stating that, ‘The results from 76 polling units in Ward 2, Ikpoba Okha LGA, were duly declared and uploaded on IReV but were unlawfully excluded by INEC at the LGA and state collation levels.’

“The witness, who explained that he examined duplicates provided to polling agents and verified the scores with INEC’s CTCs, noted that the ‘manipulation of the process’ deprived the PDP of rightful votes during collation for Forms EC8B, EC8C, and EC8D.

“Cross-examined by Kanu Agabi (SAN), counsel for the Respondents, the witness maintained his position, emphasised his active role as a collation agent, and tendered his identification tags, BVAS accreditation records, and IReV-certified documents, as exhibits, to support his testimony.

“Similarly on the same day, PDP’s second Prosecution Witness (PW2), who served as the collation agent for Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo North, cast doubt on the credibility of results declared in the LGA, alleging incorrect vote collation in favour of the APC in 48 polling units in Wards 4 and 9 of the LGA.

“Stating that evidence of over-voting in eight polling units showed that votes declared by INEC exceeded BVAS-accredited figures, the witness added that, ‘5,724 votes were overstated for the APC, while 2,171 votes were unjustly deducted from the PDP’ – indicating that the results declared by INEC on Forms EC8A ‘were significantly higher than accreditation figures in 8 polling units.’

“Besides, the witness claimed that INEC failed to record mandatory details, ‘including serial numbers of sensitive materials and BVAS machines, in 17 polling units,’ arguing that this oversight ‘rendered the results from these units null and void under the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended).

“Cross-examined, the witness maintained his role as the collation agent, affirmed his thorough review of INEC’s documents, including Results Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, and EC8D, stood by his assertion that ‘the discrepancies in results were glaring,’ and demanded accountability.

“Despite strong objections from counsel to the Respondents, including Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Oyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), the tribunal, as it did after the testimony by PW1, admitted all documentary evidence by PW2, marking them as Exhibits Pn 1-46, and adjourned sitting to the next day (Wednesday, January 22, 2025).”

In summary, social media reporting of the main proceedings, which the three-man tribunal closed on Thursday, February 13, was salaciously-slanted, portraying PDP/Ighodalo to’ve rubbished and made mincemeat of INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the poll winner, thus shaping such a narrative in the polity.

On that account, it bears repeating that, if election petitions – and elections – are won on social media, PDP/Ighodalo would’ve breasted the tape even before filing their petition at the Election Petitions Tribunal!

Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Can be reached on X, Threads, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp @EhichioyaEzomon. Tel: 08033078357.