The Supreme Court again delivered six judgments considered as landmark in the appeals filed before it by dissatisfied governorship candidates across party lines who participated in the March18, 2023 election.
Ogun
The Supreme Court,while delivering its judgment in the Ogun governorship appeal, upheld the re-election victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, the apex court dismissed as lacking in merit, the appeal the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Ladi Adebutu, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship poll that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.
Giving a lead judgment that was prepared by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the apex court, said “it found no reason to nullify the election victory of governor Abiodun, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.”
The apex court upheld the earlier verdict of the Court of Appeal which had on November 22, 2023, dismissed the case the PDP and its candidate raised against the election.
“This appeal is unmeritorious and it is accordingly dismissed,” the court held.
Delta
The apex court in the same vein affirmed the election victory of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.
A five-member panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro in a unanimous decision dismissed the appeal of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
Omo-Agege, the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate had filed an appeal to challenge Oborevwori’s victory at the polls.
He approached the court to nullify the outcome of the March 18 governorship election in Delta state.
The court however dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.
It held: “The APC and its candidate did not prove that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2023”.
The court also dismissed Omo-Agege’s contention that some of the result sheets that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, relied upon to declare Oborevwori as the winner of the election did not have serial numbers.
According to the court, even if the total numbers of INEC forms that the Appellants complained about are removed, it would still not affect the margin of lead that was in Oborevwori’s favour.
Nassarawa
In affirming almost the most controversial governorship dispute that had earlier been ruled upon by the Court of Appeal which voided the nullification of the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, the apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, upheld the declaration of Sule of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the governorship election that held in the state on March 18, 2023.
Delivering a lead judgment, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the apex court dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, David Ombugadu as lacking in merit.
Earlier in the same matter, the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had in a two-to-one split judgment delivered on October 2, 2023, nullified governor Sule’s election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ombugadu the PDP candidate.
The tribunal held further that it was satisfied that governor Sule was a beneficiary of over-voting that occurred in several polling units in the state.
But following an appeal that was lodged by the governor and his party, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on November 23, reversed his sack and vacated the decision of the tribunal.
Gombe
In another decision, the five-member panel, the Supreme court unanimously dismissed an appeal the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Mohammed Barde, filed to challenge the March 18 victory polls that declared Inuwa Yahaya as the valid governor of Gombe State.
In its lead judgment that was delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the apex court validated the concurrent verdict of the Court of Appeal and Gombe State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which held that the case the Appellants raised against the election, lacked merit.
The court held: “The judgments of the lower courts have not been found to be perverse to warrant them to be set aside”.
Kebbi
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Uwani Abba-aji, a five member panel of the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision upheld the election victory of Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State.
Before handing down its decision, the court dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Aminu Bande.
The apex court held that it found no reason to set aside the concurrent verdicts of the Court of Appeal and the Kebbi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which declared Nasir of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the gubernatorial poll that held in the state on March 18, 2023.
Kaduna
The Supreme Court panel in another appeal affirmed the election victory of Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State.
The five-member panel’s unanimous decision was delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar.
The apex court held that there was no merit in the appeal the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Mohammed Ashiru, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.
The apex court held that the petition the PDP and its candidate filed to challenge governor Sani’s election, was incompetent.
It held: “The originating petition was incompetent, no relief could be granted to the Appellants in the matter”.
Consequently, the apex court upheld the earlier judgement of the Court of Appeal which dismissed the case for being devoid of merit.
“The appeal is frivolous, vexatious and irritating. It therefore deserves to be dismissed and it is hereby dismissed,” Justice Abubakar held.
