Benin City, June 13, 2025 – Legal scholar and human rights advocate Chidi Odinkalu has raised questions about potential impropriety in the ongoing Edo State governorship election petition appeal. In a post on X at 9:22 AM BST today, Odinkalu highlighted a recent development that has sparked concerns about the integrity of the judicial process.

On June 10, 2025, Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Edo State governorship election, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Nigeria (@SupremeCourtNg) challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal (@CourtOfAppealNG). The appeal stems from the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s ruling on April 2, 2025, which dismissed Ighodalo’s petition against the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate. The tribunal’s judgment, delivered by presiding judge Wilfred Kpochi, was reported to be unanimous, despite a leaked document prior to the ruling suggesting a split verdict. Both the PDP and APC had denounced the leak, each accusing the other of orchestrating it.

Odinkalu’s post draws attention to an incident that occurred last night, June 12, 2025, in Benin City. He noted that shortly after 8:00 PM, a senior male Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC) was seen leaving the Protea Hotel, located near ShopRite in Benin, in the company of the Edo State Attorney-General. Odinkalu’s cryptic remark, “How so?!,” suggests skepticism about the appropriateness of this interaction, given the ongoing appeal before the Supreme Court.

This development has reignited concerns about judicial independence in Nigeria, particularly in high-stakes election petitions. Odinkalu, a vocal critic of judicial misconduct, has previously written about the “fading lights of justice” in Nigeria, citing instances of alleged political interference and leaks of judicial decisions. In an April 2025 article, he referenced historical cases, such as the 1979 presidential election petition and the 2007 election dispute, where allegations of predetermined outcomes and leaks surfaced.

The sighting of a Supreme Court Justice with the Edo State Attorney-General, a key figure in the state’s legal representation, could fuel perceptions of bias or undue influence, especially as the Supreme Court prepares to hear Ighodalo’s appeal. Neither the Supreme Court nor the Edo State government has issued an official statement regarding the incident at the time of this report.

As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling, this incident underscores the challenges facing Nigeria’s judiciary in maintaining public trust. Odinkalu’s post has already sparked discussions on X, with some users expressing outrage and others calling for an investigation into the conduct of judicial officers involved in the case.

The Supreme Court has yet to announce a date for hearing the appeal, but the outcome will likely have significant implications for Edo State’s political landscape and the broader discourse on judicial reform in Nigeria.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer and teacher, can be reached at [email protected].