11th July, 2024
By Taiye Agbaje and Edith Nwapi
It was another victory for Usman Ododo of All Progressives Congress (APC) as Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja affirmed that he was validly elected as the governor of Kogi State.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the victory of Ododo in the November 2023 election while throwing out the petition of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka.
The three-member panel of justices their unanimous judgment said Ajaka and SDP failed to prove all the allegations in their petition beyond reasonable doubt.
The appellate court held that the petitioners’ witnesses were incompetent because their statements did not accompany the petition in line with electoral laws.
The Appeal Court also held that the issue of alleged certificate forgery against Ododo ought to have commenced at the Federal High Court, being a pre-election matter.
Subsequently, the Appeal Court held that the appellants could not prove their case “beyond reasonable doubt,” thereby upholding Ododo’s election.
SDP and Ajaka had, in the petition, sued INEC, Ododo and the APC as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.
The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja had also in a unanimous ruling on 27 May affirmed the victory of Ododo in the governorship election conducted Nov. 11, 2023.
The three-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, held that the petitions filed by Ajaka and SDP were bereft of substance and accordingly dismissed it.
The tribunal held that the petitioners SDP and Murtala 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 matter, which ought to have been raised 14 days after the documents were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (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.
Ajaka, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, had filed a petition before the tribunal, challenging Ododo’s victory.
However, INEC, Ododo and his party, APC had prayed the tribunal to dismiss Ajaka and SDP’s petition in its entirety for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
The trio had, through their lawyers; Chief Kanu Agabi, Joseph Daudu, and Emmanuel Ukala, respectively, had told the tribunal so while adopting their final written addresses and presenting their arguments against the petition.
However, Ajaka’s lawyer, Pius Akubo, had urged the tribunal to discountenance the respondents’ submissions and uphold their petition.
NAN
