Court of Appeal Affirms Delta, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Kebbi Governors’ Elections

It was victory of the incumbent governors at the State and National Assembly Appeal Court panels that sat in Lagos and Abuja on Friday, to determine appeals from lower tribunals as Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State; All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Umoh Eno of Akwa Ibom State (PDP), Uba Sani of Kaduna State (APC), Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State (APC) and Nasir Idris of Kebbi State (APC), all had the appellate tribunals rule in their favour.

In Lagos, unanimous judgments of different panels affirmed the elections of Oborevwori, Eno and Nwifuru, but that of Abiodun was a majority judgment of two to one while a panel sitting in Abuja affirmed Sani and overruled the order of the lower tribunal for a rerun within 90 days.

Delta
In Oborevwore’s case, the court dismissed three separate Appeals filed by the governorship candidate of the APC, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Kenneth Gbagi and the Labour Party (LP) Governorship Candidate, Kennedy Pela, challenging the election of Sheriff Oborevwori as governor of Delta State.
The three-member panel presided over by Justice Hamma Akawu Barka held that all the three Appeals were lacking in merit. Other members of the panel were Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole and Justice Hadiza Shagari. The Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, had on September 29, upheld Oborevwori as winner of the March 18, governorship election. Omo-Agege, however, filed an appeal at the appellate court, challenging the judgment of the election petition tribunal.
Omo-Agege, who is the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, in his appeal, had prayed to be declared winner of the poll. But Oborevwori, urged the court to dismiss the appeal which he contended lacked merit. In its judgment yesterday, the Court of Appeal upheld Oborevwori’s election and dismissed Omo-Agege’s appeal for lacking in merit. Oborevwori polled 360234 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress APC Candidate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who scored 240229

Meanwhile, Omo-Agege, has described the judgement of the Court of Appeal as a redemption deferred for Deltans.
While he said deeply respects their Lordships, the former Deputy Senate President said he was convinced that the learned justices clearly misapprehended the reformed electoral jurisprudence that now prevails to deepen democracy in the country.
According to a statement issued after the decision and signed by his Media Adviser, Mr. Sunny Areh, Obarisi Omo-Agege said he firmly believed that justice was yet to be given to the people of Delta State who voted for him and the APC.
“We will proceed to the Supreme Court. The issues at stake touch on the future and wellbeing of the people who voted for a New Delta. We have a duty to respect them by defending their faith in us with every sense of diligence and responsibility. We don’t waver on what is right.
“I am confident that the revered Justices of the Supreme Court will examine the areas overlooked at the Appeal Court and give justice to our people,” he said.
He appealed to his supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring that the judiciary which “I have absolute confidence in will, at the final hurdle serve justice and redemption now deferred.”

Ogun
The court affirmed the election of Governor Abiodun of the ruling APC as winner of the March 18, poll, in Ogun State. In a majority judgment delivered by the duo of Justices J.S.  Ikyegh and Muhammed Mustapha, the appellate court dismissed the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in the state, Hon. Ladi Adebutu.
The court held that the appeal lacked merit as it found no substance in it and subsequently dismissed it, affirming the earlier decision of the Tribunal without costs. The Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta had on September 30, 2023, upheld Abiodun’s declaration as the winner of the March 18, governorship election.
 Adebutu, dissatisfied, had filed an appeal at the appellate court, challenging the judgment of the election petition tribunal.  But his appeal was dismissed by the appellate court in a majority decision of two to one. The court held that it is a petitioner who bears responsibility to prove that an election was marred by corrupt practices, and that appellants did not so prove.

The court further held that appellants did not prove the allegation of certificate forgery against Governor Abiodun and noted that the Tribunal did not believe the evidence of certain witnesses because of their demeanors and because of the chorused nature of their testimony.
Maintaining that appellate courts generally do not interfere with such assessments, it held that the assessment of the Tribunal was undisturbed. While upholding the expunging of the evidence of the forensic experts, the court held that there was a huge crater in the petition of the appellants, making same “castrated, sterile, and with no legs to stand on.
 “Court followed the principle that when a decision is ultimately correct, it is immaterial that some reasons may have been applied since the appellate courts concern themselves with the conclusions mainly.”
On the issue of disenfranchisement raised by the appellant, the court held that it was the duty of Appellants to prove disenfranchisement by calling voters who could vote but were disenfranchised, adding that in this petition rather, the Appellants did not call any disenfranchised voter. That instead, the appellants called persons who truly voted.

 Akwa Ibom
The court dismissed the appeal filed by Senator Bassey Albert Akpan and his Young Progressives Party (YPP), Akanimo Udofia of the APC and Senator John Akpanudoedehe of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), challenging the election of Governor Umo Eno of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The court struck out the respective appeals by the three appellants, describing them as lacking in merits. It ruled that the appellants missed the point by arguing that since they were not parties in the case, the judgment on the certificate matter was not binding on them.
“The declaratory judgment of a competent court is a judgment in rem is binding on the whole world, and not only on those who were parties in the case,” the court held.
Furthermore, the court faulted the abuse of judicial process by the appellants in re-litigating a matter that was dispensed at the High Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court in favour of the 2nd respondent Pastor Umo Eno Bassey.

Ruling further on the appeal by the YPP governorship candidate, the court also faulted the inability of the appellants to summon witnesses who were at the elections as polling agents, to prove their case of elections irregularities.  The court was of the opinion that Albert and his party only depended on documentary evidences amounting to hearsay, to allege irregularities, without making efforts to bring those who witnessed and took part in the elections at the polling units.
 On the local government collation agents that the YPP candidate paraded before the court, it held that, “it is possible to say that the evidence given by Bassey Albert’s witnesses amounted to drama scripts meant to entertain the gallery and not serious statements that could influence the emergence of a Governor.”
The appeal court also dismissed the preliminary objection by Bassey Albert’s counsel, Tunde Falola, and ruled that the briefs filed by the respondents did not violate the Appeal Court practice direction. Falola had raised objections, arguing that the briefs of argument by the respondents ran more than the number of pages stipulated by the court practice guidelines and should be rejected.
But the court dismissed the objection insisting that the extra pages did not constitute part of the briefs l, but were mere acknowledgment of authorities and addresses of parties.

The court also ruled that the burden of proof in the allegations that the name of the 2nd Respondent was not the same as the names on the 1981 and 1983 WAEC certificates, was on the appellants, adding that they failed to establish the proof.

Kaduna

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal yesterday, voided the order of the Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, for a supplementary election. The appellate court voided the order for supplementary election while delivering judgment in two separate appeals by Uba Sani of the APC and Isa Ashiru of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While the three-member panel led by Justice Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio, dismissed the appeal by Ashiru for lacking in merit, it held that, that of Sani was meritorious and subsequently allowed it and grant the reliefs requested by the governor.

Consequently, the panel affirmed the election of Uba Sani as Governor of Kaduna State and set aside the judgment of the tribunal which had declared the election that produced Sani as Governor inconclusive.

In voiding the decision of the lower tribunal, Justice Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio, who delivered the unanimous judgment, held that the evidence relied upon by the tribunal to declare the election inconclusive were “manifestly bad, unreliable and ought not to have given any probative value.”

According to the judgment, the evidence the tribunal acted upon in ordering the conduct of supplementary polls in 22 polling units of four local government areas (LGAs) of the State where the exercise was deemed inconclusive was inadmissible.

Besides, the appellate court held that a key witness called by the PDP at the tribunal merely gave hearsay evidence because he was not present when the malpractices he alleged happened.

Meanwhile, the court held that the tribunal was right in dismissing the petition of the PDP and Ashiru because the petitioners abandoned their petition, owing to their failure to apply for issuance of pre-hearing information sheet after close of pleadings as required by paragraph 18(1) of the first scheduled to the Electoral Act, 2022.

Other members of the panel who agreed with the lead judgment are James Abundaga and Mohamed Idris.

Ebonyi

The Court in Lagos affirmed the election of Mr. Fran­cis Ogbonna Nwifuru, as the duly elected governor of Ebonyi State in the March 18 governorship election. The three-member panel presided over by Justice Jummai  Hannatu Sankey yesterday in its unanimous decision dismissed two separate Appeals filed by Chukwuma Ifeanyi Odii of the PDP, and that of Bernard Odoh, of the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) respectively.

 Other members of the Panel were Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, and Justice Ali Ibrahim Andeyangtso. The panel resolved all the issues raised against the Appellants and dismissed the two Appeals for lacking in merit.

Justice Sankey in her lead judgment held that the PDP and its candidate lacked the legal right to meddle into the internal affairs of the APC as it relates to nomination of candidates.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Nwifuru as the winner of the state’s last conducted governorship poll.

Nwifuru garnered a total of 199,131 votes cast across the 13 local governments in the state to defeat his closest challenger, Odii who got a total of 80,191 votes to emerge second, while Odoh, of APGA came a distant third with 52, 189 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, the appellants in their separate appeals had contended that Nwifuru was illegally nominated by the APC because he was still a member of the PDP as the speaker of the Ebonyi House of Assembly at the time of his nomination as his party’s flag-bearer.

However, the Ebonyi State Election Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal affirmed Nwifuru’s of the All Progressives Congress as the Governor of the state.

 The tribunal also dismissed the petition of the PDP and its governorship candidate, Odii and that of Odoh, the APGA candidate.

Dissatisfied, the Appellants challenged the judgment of the Tribunal and urged the Appellate court to set aside. In her lead Judgment, Justice Sankey held that the issues of qualification/disqualification of the 2nd Respondent (Fran­cis Ogbonna Nwifuru) was an internal affair of the APC, which the PDP and its candidate lacked the legal right to meddle into.

 Justice Sankey held that the issue of qualification was a pre-election matter which the lower tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to entertain.

 “The membership of a political party is a domestic affair, and it’s within the exclusive confine of a political party to determine its membership. I am in complete agreement with the lower Tribunal that the issue if membership of the 2nd Respondent is not justiciable. The court should not drag itself into unnecessary political issues”, the court held.

 Delivering Judgment in a sister Appeal, Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill also dismissed the petition filed by Odoh and APGA on the ground that they lacked locus standi to challenge Nwifuru’s electoral victory.

 The court also held that APGA failed to appeal a federal high court judgment which confirmed the Nwifuru’s defection from PDP to APC.

 The court held that the Appeal lacked merit, and dismissed it accordingly.

Kebbi

In Kebbi, another three-member panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, also dismissed the appeal against the declaration of Nasir Idris as Kebbi State Governor.

The three-member led by Justice Ndukwe Anyannwu in their unanimous judgment held that the appeal was devoid of merit, adding that the appellant failed to provide cogent reason why the judgment of the lower tribunal could be voided.

According to the judgment, the Kebbi State Governorship Election Petition tribunal was in order when it held that the Deputy Governor Abubakar Umar Tafida, met the educational threshold for qualification for the position of governor of Kebbi State.

Besides, the appellate court in the whole resolved all the five issues formulated for determination in favour of the governor and against People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and his governorship candidate General Aminu Bande.

PDP and Bande had sought the disqualification of Idris from the governorship election on account of alleged forgery and lying on oath against his deputy but the tribunal in its verdict held that evidence before it showed that the testimonial Tafida submitted in aid of his qualification for the March 18 governorship election was actually issued by his school.

While affirming the judgment of the lower tribunal Justice Anyannwu, further  held that the issues of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act in the conduct of the election could not stand because the appellants failed to proof how the allegations substantially affected the election.

The appellate court subsequently affirmed the judgment of the Kebbi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the petition of PDP and affirmed the election of the Governor Idris.

Wale Igbintade, Sylvester Idowu in Warri, James Sowole in Abeokuta, Alex Enumah in Abuja and Okon Bassey in Uyo

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