Tribunal Strikes Out Ilaka’s Application

Oyo State National and state House of Assembly election petitions tribunal siting in Iyaganku High Court 20 today struck out the petition filed by Chief Oyebisi Ilaka of Accord Party (AP) after he failed to properly regularise it.

On 8 June, the court granted the petitioner 48 hours to regularise his petition following the objection raised by the respondent, Senator Ayoade Adeseun of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that the petition was wrongly addressed to the tribunal.

Ilaka had gone to the tribunal challenging irregularities in the 16 April parliamentary election which produced Adeseun as the senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District which Ilaka claimed was invalidated by substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

Counsel to Adeseun, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) had earlier raised a preliminary objection to the petition filed by Ilaka through his counsel, Mr Ubong Akpan on the improper address and wrong heading of the petition to the tribunal.

Akpan in his petition had addressed the tribunal as the National Assembly/Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Tribunal instead of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal.

The three-man tribunal headed by Justice Frank Nwizu in its ruling on 8 June dismissed the preliminary objection of Adeseun but ordered Ilaka to within 48 hours regularise his application before the tribunal.

Ilaka through his counsel Akpan regularised his application before the tribunal but Adeseun through his counsel Akeredolu, opposed the amendment saying it was not properly presented before the tribunal.

Akeredolu called the attention of the tribunal to the fact that the amendment was asking for fresh appeal which was not included in the original petition for amendment.

The tribunal in its ruling read by a member, Justices Omolaye-Ajileye, said that there was no sufficient proof before the tribunal to exercise its discretion in the proposed amendment.

He said: “Each opportunity given to the petitioner to amend the petition filed was pursued in the wrong direction which rendered the whole process invalid.”

The petition then struck out the amendment on the ground of incompetence and fixed pre-hearing in the case for 7 July.

Another member of the tribunal is Justice Kadi Muhammad Alkali.

By Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan