The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and police have been accused by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of continuing to defy a court mandate by refusing its legal team access to election materials from the controversial September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election.
The ruling, issued by Hon. Justice W.I. Kpochi of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, directed INEC to provide unrestricted access to key documents and materials critical to the PDP’s petition.
The court order, secured by Asue Ighodalo, the PDP governorship candidate, authorised the inspection of election documents.
These including BVAS machine data, voter registers, and specific forms (EC25B, EC40A, EC40C, and EC8A) that recorded voting and accreditation results across Edo’s 4,519 polling units.
Despite the clear directive, an insider within INEC suggested that the commission awaits “an order from above” before allowing the PDP team to proceed, citing unclear reasons.
However, when PDP lawyers attempting to execute the court order faced further setbacks when the Nigerian Police allegedly blocked access to the INEC office in Benin City.
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