Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)
By Ebere Agozie/Taiye Agbaje
Abuja, Aug. 24, 2024
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the re-election of Sen. Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as governors of Bayelsa and Kogi states respectively.
The apex court in a judgment, dismissed the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the APC, Timipre Sylva and his party.
The lead judgment delivered by Justice Garba Lawal, held that the appeal by Sylva and APC was not only lacking merit but a gross abuse of court process.
The unanimous decision of the apex court upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and the Election Petition Tribunal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Court of Appeal in Abuja had, on July 18, affirmed the re-election victory of Gov. Diri of Bayelsa in the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship poll.
The three-member panel of justices led by Justice James Abundaga, in a unanimous judgment, held that the appeal filed by the appellants, Mr. Sylva and the APC, lacked merit.
The panel held that the tribunal was not in error when it struck out several paragraphs of the petitioner’s reply against the governor’s election.
NAN reports that the election tribunal had, on May 27, dismissed the petition filed by Sylva and APC.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.
In a unanimous decision, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to adduce credible evidence to substantiate their allegations against the outcome of the state’s governorship poll.
It struck out all the additional proof of evidence and statements on oath of some of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners as incompetent.
According to the tribunal, the law expressly provided that an election petition must be filed no later than 21 days after the election result was declared.
The apex Court, also on Friday, affirmed the victory of Ododo in the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship election held in Kogi.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a judgment, held that the appeal by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Muritala Ajaka, marked: SC/CV/654/2024 was without merit and proceeded to dismiss it.
Justice Sadiq Umar, who authored and read the lead judgment, resolved all the three issues identified for determination in the appeal against the appellants.
NAN reports that a three-member panel of the Appeal Court, in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Onyekachi Otisi on July 11, had upheld the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The appellate court held that the SDP and Ajaka, failed to prove the allegations contained in their appeal beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
The court equally dismissed the appeals filed by Action Alliance (AA) and its governorship candidate, Olayinka Braimoh; and that of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and its governorship candidate, Dr Abdullahi Bayawo, challenging Ododo’s victory.
Justice Otisi, while delivering judgment on SDP and Ajaka”s appeal, agreed with the election petition tribunal which sat in Abuja.
The judge said the tribunal was right to have expunged the evidence of the 1st prosecution witness (PW-1) called by the petitioners on the ground that the evidence tendered by the witness was a documentary hearsay.
She said witnesses, whether subpoenaed or normal, are supposed to front-load their witness statements on oath as required by law.
The judge held that the petitioners’ witnesses were incompetent because their statements did not accompany the petition in line with the electoral laws.
She agreed with the tribunal that there were inconsistencies in the case of the appellants.
According to her, the allegation of forgery of document that Ododo submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a pre-election matter which is handled by the Federal High Court and not the tribunal.
The said action, Justice Otisi held, happened before the conduct of the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship election in the state and as such, cannot be legislated upon by the lower tribunal.
The judge also held that the allegation of forgery of document ought to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Otisi subsequently resolved all the issues raised in the appeal against the appellants.
NAN reports that the tribunal had, on May 27, affirmed the victory of Gov. Ododo of APC in the Nov. 11, 2023 Kogi governorship poll.
The three-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, held that the petition was bereft of substance and accordingly dismissed it.
The tribunal held that SDP and Ajaka failed to prove the allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 in the petition.
The panel, in a unanimous, decision held that all the witness evidence filed before it were incompetent and full of inconsistencies.
It also agreed with the submissions of the respondents that the allegations of forgery raised in the petition were pre-election matters, which ought to have been raised 14 days after the documents were submitted to INEC.
Kogi had, on Nov. 11, 2023, held its off-cycle election in which Ododo of the APC emerged winner, beating his closest rival, Ajaka of the SDP with a wide margin.
Unsatisfied with INEC’s declaration of Ododo as winner of the poll, Ajaka and his party dragged the electoral umpire, Ododo and APC to the tribunal as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.
Meanwhile, there was commotion at the Supreme Court on Friday as the apex court prepared to deliver judgment in the governorship election disputes in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi.
NAN reports that the court had fixed today, Aug. 23 for the final judgment of the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship poll conducted in the three states by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, lawyers, litigants, journalists and supporters of different candidates found it difficult to access the courtroom as police officers and private security guards from Halogen Security, restrained everyone from going into the courtroom.
NAN reports that as at about 1pm, accessing the court became difficult as many journalists were denied entrance into the courtroom.
The development resulted in commotion at the premises of the court as supporters of candidates in the elections struggle to gain access into the courtroom at all cost.
