Tribunal dismisses PDP petition, affirms Elegbeji’s victory in Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo by-election
The National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal sitting at Iyaganku, Ibadan, on Tuesday, February 4, 2026, 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 held in August 2025.
The tribunal consequently affirmed the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hon. Adesola Elegbeji.
In its ruling, the tribunal upheld the preliminary objections raised by Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, counsel to Elegbeji, and Dr. Remi Olatubora, SAN, counsel to the APC, who argued that the petition was technically incompetent.
The senior advocates had urged the tribunal to strike out key portions of the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to specifically name individuals alleged to have snatched ballot papers and ballot boxes across 576 polling units.
They maintained that allegations of criminal acts must be clearly pleaded with the identities of those involved and evidence linking them to the respondents.
Upholding the objections, the tribunal ruled that allegations of ballot snatching and hijacking are serious criminal claims that cannot be established without identifying the perpetrators and proving their connection to Hon. Elegbeji and the APC.
The tribunal struck out the affected paragraphs of the petition, describing them as legally defective and incapable of sustaining the claims.
Although the striking out of the key allegations rendered the petition substantially weak, the tribunal proceeded to examine the case on its merits.
After evaluating the evidence presented, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations.
It ruled that the INEC Presiding Officers’ Form G tendered to support claims of violence lacked probative value, as they were not tendered by their makers — the presiding officers themselves.
The tribunal further observed that while the petitioners alleged irregularities in 576 polling units, they called only 26 witnesses, which it described as grossly insufficient to substantiate their claims.
Consequently, the tribunal dismissed the petition in its entirety for lack of merit and affirmed Hon. Adesola Elegbeji as the duly elected representative of the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency
