The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgments of the two lower courts on the All Progressives Congress primary election, which produced Usman Ododo as the candidate for the November 11 election, News About Nigeria reports.
Details of the Apex court’s ruling on Monday were disclosed in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Kogi State Government, Onogwu Mohammed.
According to the statement, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment, held that Adeyemi’s appeal lacked merit because it failed to challenge the findings of both the High and Appeal Courts or demonstrate that their rulings were perverse.
The Court also held that the two issues raised in Adeyemi’s brief were “unreasonable, vexatious, not triable, and against the provisions of Section 132 and 133(1) of the Evidence Act 2011.”
The Court further held that the appeal is a failed one that lacks merit, noting that the Appellant shall pay the cost of N1 million each to Ododo and the APC, who are the 1st and 3rd Respondents in the case.
The Supreme Court also frowned upon the practice of appearing on TV stations to discuss matters in court with statements like, “if the court is a court of justice, the appeal should go in your favour.”
“The court frowns at this practice. Once you’ve engaged a lawyer, go and rest. I am giving this elaborate talk so that you don’t go out and say things that are not reasonable. The Court is manned by reasonable persons,” Justice E. Agim, who delivered the Supreme Court’s judgment, said.
The Appellant, who represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the 9th Assembly, had filed a suit at the Federal High Court and Appeal Court respectively, seeking to nullify the primary election of the APC, which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the state’s governorship election slated for November 11.
The case was, however, dismissed by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit.
