THE Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful winner of the Kogi State governorship election held on 11 November 2023, as well as that of his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma.
The judgment in the case of Kogi came as a significant setback for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Muritala Ajaka, who had challenged the election results.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Sadiq Umar, delivered the judgment, dismissing the appeal filed by the SDP and Ajaka on the grounds that it lacked merit. The court resolved all three issues raised by the appellants in favour of Ododo and the APC.
This decision follows a previous ruling by the Appeal Court, which had also upheld the judgment of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. On 11 July a three-member panel of the appellate court, presided over by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, ruled that the SDP and Ajaka had failed to substantiate their claims of election irregularities and forgery beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law.
Justice Otisi’s judgment echoed the tribunal’s earlier decision, which had dismissed the evidence presented by the petitioners as “documentary hearsay” and deemed their witnesses incompetent due to non-compliance with electoral laws. The tribunal had also rejected allegations of forgery against Ododo, stating that such claims were pre-election matters and should have been addressed in a Federal High Court, not during the election tribunal proceedings.
The tribunal had initially upheld Ododo’s victory on 27 May 2024 after rejecting the claims of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022. The panel of justices ruled unanimously that the petitioners had failed to present credible evidence to support their allegations.
The November 2023 election in Kogi State saw Ododo emerge as the clear winner, defeating Ajaka by a wide margin. Despite the SDP’s attempt to overturn the results, the court’s decisions at various levels have consistently upheld the legitimacy of Ododo’s victory.
Ajaka and the SDP had sought to challenge the declaration of Ododo as the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but their efforts have now been conclusively dismissed by the highest court in the land.
Also, a five-member panel of the apex court, in a judgment delivered today, Friday, 23 August 2023, dismissed the appeal filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Athan Achonu, on the grounds that it lacked merit.
Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, who read the lead judgment, addressed the three issues presented for consideration and ruled against the appellants.
Justice Idris found that the appellants, as petitioners at the election tribunal, failed to meet the burden of proof required for their case.
He upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier affirmed the election tribunal’s judgment and dismissed the appellants’ petition.
Additionally, on the same day, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the recent Imo state governorship election, Samuel Anyawu.
In a unanimous decision, the five-member panel held that this appeal also lacked merit.
Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, in the lead judgment, ruled against all the issues presented in the appeal.
Eighteen-Eleven Media