A Kogi governorship aspirant, Senator Smart Afolabi Adeyemi, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had his lawsuit against the emergence of Usman Ododo as the party’s candidate in the last primary election dismissed by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
News About Nigeria reports that the court ruling, delivered by Justice James Kolawole Omotosho, stated that the suit lacked substance and merit, therefore not warranting any action against Ododo and the APC.
Adeyemi had made allegations of criminal activity, claiming that the elections did not take place and that the results were forged.
Justice Omotosho emphasized that Adeyemi needed to provide concrete evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support his allegations of forgery and falsification of results.
The burden of proof lay on the senator to produce either the forged results or the original results to substantiate his claims. Failure to do so would be detrimental to his case.
Regarding the allegation that the election did not occur, the court found that Adeyemi’s evidence from his Ward in Ijumu LGA was insufficient and disputed by the Respondents.
The Respondents presented monitoring reports from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as evidence of the election’s legitimacy.
These reports were supported by copies of the results and a police report confirming the conduct of the election, signed by the Commissioner of Police.
Consequently, Justice Omotosho concluded that the case had no foundation.
Ultimately, the court dismissed Adeyemi’s case for lacking merit. Justice Omotosho made it clear that the will of a few individuals, including the Applicant, should not supersede the will of the majority.
He firmly stated that the Applicant’s case had no basis and henceforth dismissed it.
