The hearing of the petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, was delayed on Monday due to the petitioners’ failure to provide the respondents with a list of witnesses in time.

The PDP and Ighodalo are contesting the declaration of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Edo governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

During the hearing, the respondents’ legal counsel objected to the petitioners’ request to call witnesses, citing the late service of the witness list. The petitioners’ lawyers—Kanu Agabi, SAN, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, SAN, and Emmanuel Ukala, SAN—told the court that they had only received the list of witnesses moments before the proceedings began.

They argued that this delay left them with insufficient time to prepare for cross-examinations. They also referenced a previous agreement to exchange witness lists at least one day before witnesses are called, as per the tribunal’s directive.

“We expected the schedule to be served on us by Sunday, either electronically or through other means, but the petitioners failed to do so. The list only arrived at around 9:50 a.m. today, just before the hearing began. This undermines the tribunal’s directive and the agreement to prevent any party from being caught by surprise,” Ukala stated. “Given this situation, we assert that the petitioners’ actions made today’s proceedings impossible, and we are prepared to reconvene tomorrow.”

Agabi, counsel to INEC, supported Ukala’s argument, emphasizing the challenges of proceeding under such circumstances. Counsel to Governor Okpebholo, Ikpeazu, echoed the positions of Agabi and Ukala.

The petitioners had stated that the delay in providing the witness list was due to threats made against their witnesses by the APC. Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, representing the petitioners, explained that the delay was not intentional but a result of the situation they faced. He mentioned a television broadcast by the APC state chairman, who allegedly threatened to arrest their witnesses at the court.

“We sent the video to the 3rd respondent’s counsel but did not receive any assurance of safety. Despite this, we urge the Tribunal to reject the applications for adjournment and allow us to proceed with our eight witnesses,” Oyeyipo stated.