The National/House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, seated in Benin, Edo State, affirmed the victory of Peter Akpatason, the House of Representatives member representing Akoko-Edo federal constituency.
In a highly anticipated judgement of petition EPT/ED/HR/10/2023, brought by Omobayo Marvellous Godwin, the Labour Party candidate, Justice Yusuf Mohammed-led three-man panel dismissed the petition for being ‘lacking in merit’ and incompetent.
The tribunal emphasized that the burden of proof rested upon the petitioners and they could not rely solely on admissions from respondents. Consequently, the panel ruled in favor of Akpatason, affirming that the petitioners failed to meet the required burden of proof as dictated by the law.
The panel noted that the petitioners inadequately demonstrated that the Independent National Electoral Commission unlawfully declared Akpatason as the election winner.
In the election, Akpatason secured a victory with 14,982 votes, while Godwin came in third with 7,992 votes.
Far from satisfied with these results, Omobayo approached the tribunal, accusing Akpatason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022 in a bid to challenge his return.
