The National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal sitting at Iyaganku, Ibadan, has dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate challenging the outcome of the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency by-election, thereby affirming the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hon. Adesola Elegbeji.
The tribunal delivered its ruling on Tuesday, February 4, 2026, bringing to an end months of legal contestation arising from the August 2025 by-election.
In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel upheld the preliminary objections raised by counsel to the respondents, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, representing Hon. Elegbeji, and Dr. Remi Olatubora, SAN, appearing for the APC. The senior advocates had challenged the competence of the petition, arguing that it was fundamentally defective in law.
They contended that the petitioners made sweeping allegations of ballot paper and ballot box snatching across 576 polling units without specifically naming the individuals allegedly involved in the criminal acts or providing evidence linking such acts to Hon. Elegbeji or the APC.
According to the respondents’ counsel, allegations of criminal conduct in an election petition must be clearly and strictly pleaded, with the identities of the alleged perpetrators disclosed and credible evidence led to establish their involvement and connection to the respondents.
In upholding the objections, the tribunal ruled that allegations of ballot snatching, hijacking and violence are grave criminal accusations which cannot be sustained in the absence of specific particulars. The panel held that failure to identify the alleged perpetrators rendered the affected portions of the petition legally incompetent.
Consequently, the tribunal struck out several key paragraphs of the petition, describing them as defective, vague and incapable of grounding the reliefs sought by the petitioners.
Despite noting that the striking out of these allegations had substantially weakened the petition, the tribunal proceeded to consider the case on its merits.
Upon evaluating the evidence presented, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by law. It faulted the reliance placed on INEC Presiding Officers’ Form G tendered to support claims of violence and irregularities, ruling that the documents lacked probative value because they were not tendered by their makers — the presiding officers who allegedly completed them.
The tribunal further observed that while the petitioners alleged widespread irregularities in 576 polling units, they called only 26 witnesses in support of their case. This, the panel held, was grossly insufficient to establish the scale of malpractice alleged.
In its final pronouncement, the tribunal dismissed the petition in its entirety for lack of merit and affirmed Hon. Adesola Elegbeji as the duly elected member representing the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
The ruling effectively validates the outcome declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and brings legal closure to the fiercely contested by-election.
