The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has reserved judgement in the appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 11, 2023 Kogi state governorship election, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka
and his party challenging the judgement of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The tribunal had in May this year affirmed Ahmed Usman Ododo of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.
A three-member of Justices of the appellate court reserved judgement in the appeal to a date that would be communicated to parties after the adoption of all the briefs they filed in the matter.
While adopting the processes filed on behalf of his client, Pius Akubo (SAN) urged the court to set aside the judgement of the Tribunal and declare Ajaka as the governor of Kogi state.
According to Akubo, the judgement of the Tribunal which affirmed Ododo’s election was a serious miscarriage of justice.
He said that it was a miscarriage of justice when the tribunal expunged the evidence of the first petitioners’ witness (PW1) having accepted his evidence earlier.
Akubo said, the appellants have demonstrated that election in three Local Government Areas of Kogi state was contaminated by over voting and added that, Ajaka would have won if the election was properly conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act.
“Having regards to Section 134(1)(3) of the Electoral Act, the 2nd respondent was not qualified to contest in the election, having submitted forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)”, he stated.
Akubo urged the court to hold that the the issue of qualification of the 2nd respondent is not a pre-election matter and pleaded with the court to set aside the decision of the Tribunal and declare Ajaka winner of the November 11, 2023 Kogi state governorship election.
In his own submission, INEC’s counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), while adopting the briefs filed on behalf of his client, prayed the court to dismiss the appeal filed by Ajaka and his party for lacking in merit.
He said there were inconsistencies in the case of the appellants as they were praying the court to declare Ajaka as the winner of an election they said was invalid.
Agabi said, PW1 did not file any witness deposition before hand as required by law and as such cannot give evidence in an election petition.
Ododo’s counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), in his own submission said, no single evidence of PW1 was admitted as evidence by the court on the ground that he failed to front load his witness statement on oath before hand.
Daudu said, the Tribunal was right to have expunged the evidence of PW1, having declared it inadmissible and added that the appellants failed to prove the allegation of over voting contained in their petition.
He urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgement of the Tribunal which upheld the election of Ododo.
Ajaka and his party, in the appeal, hinged on 31 grounds, insist that they are the winners of the November 11, 2023 governorship election and should be declared the rightful winner.
The appellants who are dissatisfied with the decision of the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal headed by Hon. Justice Ado Yusuf Birnin Kudu are praying the court for an order setting aside the judgement of the Tribunal, an order restoring the testimony of their first witness (PW1) as well as all the documents they tendered but expunged from the records of the Tribunal.
The appellants also want the Appeal Court to hold that Ododo was not even qualified to have contested the election into the office of Governor of Kogi State and that all votes ascribed and or allocated to him and the APC are wasted votes.
“An order granting the reliefs sought by the appellants in the petition and thereupon declaring him (the 1st Appellant) as the duly elected governor of Kogi State”.