A 3-man panel of the Appeal Court will today, Friday, deliver judgement in the legal battle between Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke and his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
Tension and anxiety is building up in the state, with supporters of the various interests uncertain of the pendulum the judgement would swing.
Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was declared winner of the July 16, 2022 governorship election in Osun, but his victory was immediately challenged by the Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who alleged over-voting in some polling units.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday announced that judgement in the legal battle would be handed down for the two warring parties.
The Court had on March 14 reserved judgments in three appeals and a cross-appeal filed on the dispute over the governorship election.
The substantive appeals, filed by Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), are against the January 27 judgement of the Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal, which voided Adeleke’s victory at the July 16, 2022 election.
The cross-appeal, jointly filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the election, Adegboyega Oyetola, is against a portion of the tribunal’s judgement.
Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had sacked Governor Adeleke on the ground that he did not score the majority of lawful votes cast during the July 16 governorship election in the state.
Two out of the three-member panel of the tribunal held that Oyetola could prove that there was indeed over-voting in some of the polling units.
The three-man panel, comprising Justices Tertse Kume, P. Agbuli and Rabi Bashir, in a split judgement of two-to-one formed three issues for resolution which include whether the second respondent, Adeleke, was qualified to contest the position of governor, whether there was substantial non compliance and whether there was over voting. The majority judgement read by Justice Tertse Kume, panel Chairman, resolved the issue of qualification in favour of Adeleke and held that “as at the time of the election, he is duly qualified to contest”.
On second and third issues, the tribunal held that the conduct of the election was not in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act as amended.
According to the tribunal, “the defences of the respondents are tainted with fundamental flaws, irreconcilable and unreliable, incapable of defeating the credible evidence tendered by the petitioners in respect of the 744 polling units where over voting has been established.
Consequently, the majority judgement of the tribunal ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and issue a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun.
However, Adeleke had immediately condemned the judgement, vowing to challenge it at the appellate court.
His immediate reaction then was that the judgement: “is an unfair interpretation against the will of the majority of voters. I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done. Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate.”
However, Adeleke is before the appellate court, praying it upturn the earlier judgement. He insists that he won the majority of votes cast during the guber polls.
On his own part, Oyetota had remained upbeat of victory and possible return to the governorship seat.
In the cross appeal he filed, Oyetola is challenging the court Tribunal’s verdict which cleared Adeleke of certificate forgery.
The cross-appeal by Oyetola and the APC is being defended by Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and Akin Olujimi, SAN.
They are arguing that the Tribunal misdirected itself when it held that the certificate from Atlanta Metropolitan College and a diploma certificate from Penn Foster High School are genuine.
“It is in evidence before the Tribunal that Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice of the Atlanta Metropolitan College is a four-year full time course, in which fact, the Cross-Appellants pleaded in their petition and was admitted by the 2nd Cross-Respondent.
“It is the law that facts admitted need no further proof and it is a presumption which only the 2nd Cross-Respondent could rebut as regards the factual impossibility of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree within 24 days of obtaining a School Certificate equivalent, thereby casting the onus of proof on him,” Oyetola’s counsel noted.
At the time of this report tension is high in the state, even as chieftains of the PDP and the APC, as well as associates, are said to have arrived in Abuja to witness the delivery of the judgement.
