By THE Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN), on Friday, laid to rest the legal battles over the Kogi and Bayelsa states governorship seats when it affirmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Duoye Diri as the validly elected governors of Kogi and Bayelsa states.
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Muritala Ajaka in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Kogi State and his party, had challenged the judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which affirmed Ododo’s victory at the poll.
Supreme Court of Nigeria
A five-member panel of justices of the apex court had, in a unanimous judgment, upheld the concurrent judgments of the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal and dismissed the appeal filed by Ajaka and his party for lacking in merit.
The Apex Court panel said the allegation of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the conduct of the election was not proven by Ajaka and his party.
It further held that allegations of age falsification and certificate forgery are pre-election matters and pointed out that it is the Federal High Court that has jurisdiction to hear such.
INEC had announced that Ododo polled a total of 446,237 votes to defeat Ajaka who came second with 259,052 votes in the November 11 governorship election of Kogi.
Also, the apex court in a judgment delivered on Friday, dismissed the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Timipre Sylvia in the November 11 Bayelsa State governorship election and his party challenging Diri’s victory in the election.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Garba Lawal, the apex court held that the appeal by Sylvia and the APC was not only lacking merit but a gross abuse of the court process.
The unanimous decision of the apex court upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed Diri’s election.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had, in a unanimous judgment delivered on July 18, 2024, affirmed the decision of the Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had upheld the November 11, 2023, re-election of Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.
A three-member panel of the appellate court had in the judgment dismissed an appeal brought before the Court by Timipre Sylva and his party seeking to set aside the decision of the Tribunal.
The Justice Adekunle Adeleye-led three-member tribunal had on May 27, dismissed the petition filed against Governor Diri’s re-election by the APC and its candidate for lacking in merit.
The tribunal had held that both Sylva and APC failed to adduce any credible evidence to substantiate any of the allegations they raised against the outcome of the governorship poll.
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