The Supreme Court, on Monday, reserved judgments on the appeals challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal that upheld the results of the governorship elections held in Kogi and Bayelsa States last year.
The apex court deferred judgment in the appeals till a date to be communicated to the parties.
In the case of Kogi, the court dismissed the application of the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the last governorship election in Kogi State, Yakubu Muritala Ajaka urging the court to await the outcome of his request for a full panel of the court to hear the issues raised in his appeal.
Ajaka and his party are, in their appeal marked: SC/CV/654/2024, praying the apex court to set aside the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the election petition tribunal, upholding the victory of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the poll held on November 11, 2023.
At the mention of the appeal at the Supreme Court, counsel for Ajaka and his party, Pius Akubo (SAN) told the court that his client has written the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for the constitution of a full panel of the court to hear issues raised in Paragraphs 4.28 and 4.29, in page 16 of the appellants’ brief of argument.
Akubo said the appellants are by both paragraphs, praying the court to depart from its previous decisions in determining their appeal.
Lawyers to the respondents – Kanu Agabi (SAN) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joseph Daudu (SAN) for Ododo and Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) for the APC – all described the application as unnecessary and urged the court, as presently constituted, to proceed to hear the appeal.
The court, in its ruling delivered by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, who presided over the five-member panel, noted that the issue, in respect of which the appellants seek a full panel, was a fraction of the entire appeal.
Similarly, Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri asked the court to dismiss the appeal brought against his election by the governorship candidate of the APC, Timipre Sylva, in the November 11, 2023 election in the state.
Diri insisted that Sylva’s appeal was terribly bad and beyond redemption as no witness or documents supported his request being made at the court.
At Monday’s proceedings, the governor, represented by Chris Uche (SAN), maintained that Sylvia’s appeal was devoid of merit and should be dismissed in its entirety.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) represented by Charles Edoshomwan (SAN), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) represented by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) all supported the call for the dismissal of the appeal for want of merit.
However, Sylva, represented by Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), pleaded with the apex court to set aside the judgments of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had earlier dismissed his petition.
Sylva specifically asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the declaration of Diri by INEC as winner of the governorship election and declare him as the lawful winner of the election.
After taking arguments from the lawyers involved, Justice Garba Lawal, who presided over the panel, deferred judgment till a date that would be communicated to the parties in the matter.
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