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 August 2025 Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency by-election.

In its ruling, the tribunal affirmed the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hon. Adesola Elegbeji, declaring him the duly elected representative of the constituency.

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 and legally defective.

The senior advocates had urged the tribunal to strike out substantial portions of the petition, noting that the petitioners failed to specifically identify individuals alleged to have snatched ballot papers and ballot boxes across 576 polling units.

They argued that allegations involving criminal conduct must be clearly and strictly pleaded, including the names of the alleged perpetrators and credible evidence establishing a direct link between the alleged acts and the respondents.

Agreeing with the submissions, the tribunal held that allegations of ballot snatching and election hijacking are serious criminal claims that cannot be sustained without identifying the perpetrators and proving their connection to Hon. Elegbeji and the APC.

Consequently, the tribunal struck out the affected paragraphs of the petition, describing them as incurably defective and incapable of grounding the reliefs sought.

Despite striking out the core allegations, the tribunal proceeded to consider the petition on its merits and found that the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by law.

The tribunal ruled that the INEC Presiding Officers’ Form G tendered to support allegations of violence and irregularities lacked probative value, as the documents were not tendered by their makers — the presiding officers who completed them.

It further noted that although the petitioners alleged widespread irregularities in 576 polling units, they called only 26 witnesses, a number the tribunal described as grossly inadequate to substantiate such extensive claims.

In the final analysis, the tribunal held that the petition was unmeritorious and accordingly dismissed it in its entirety, affirming Hon. Adesola Elegbeji as the duly elected member representing the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency.