Abuja Court Reserves Judgment Date In Adeyemi’s Appeal Against Ododo’s Candidacy

Akeem Oduyoye

The Court of Appeal, on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, reserved judgment in the appeal brought before it by Senator Smart Adeyemi, seeking to nullify the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo.

 Ododo was elected as APC’s  governorship candidate to run on the platform of the party in the forth coming governorship scheduled for November 11, 2023.

Recall that Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, in a judgment delivered on July 12, held that Adeyemi did not prove his allegation that Ododo was not lawfully nominated by the APC.

While delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/CS/556/2023, Justice Omotosho held that Adeyemi’s allegations of result forgery were criminal in nature and must be proved beyond reasonable doubts, just as he subsequently dismissed the suit in its entirety for lacking in merit and substance.

 Adeyemi, not satisfied by the ruling, rushed to the Appellate Court to set aside the judgment, insisting that the trial court failed to properly evaluate the proof of evidence that was placed before it by the parties.

Adeyemi also added that, there were inconsistencies in the report tendered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the affidavit that the APC deposed to.

According to Adeyemi, while INEC claimed that option A4 mode was adopted for the primary election it monitored, the APC told the court that the election was through a secret ballot.

When the matter came up on Wednesday, Counsel in the matter identified and adopted their processes filed in respect of the matter and the three-member panel of Justices of the court, led by Justice Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu reserved judgment to a date that would be communicated to parties.

Adeyemi had alleged in his suit that the primary election that purportedly produced Ododo as the APC governorship candidate did not hold and that the results were forged.