The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, currently sitting in Abuja, has announced that it will deliver its judgment on May 27 in the highly anticipated case filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Murtala Ajaka.
News About Nigeria reports that the petition challenges the declaration of Usman Ododo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Kogi State.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, announced the date on Thursday through its Secretary, David Mike after hearing in the case ended on May 13.
The SDP and Ajaka are seeking to nullify Ododo’s victory, citing irregularities and corrupt practices during the election.
In their final written addresses, the SDP and Ajaka urged the tribunal to uphold their petition, while the APC, Ododo, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition for lacking merit.
INEC’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), argued that the petition was incompetent and lacked sufficient evidence to support the allegations made. He cited recent judgments by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, which held that a petition with inconsistent grounds should be struck out.
Agabi also argued that the evidence led by the petitioners was grossly insufficient, citing a Supreme Court decision in the case of Tonye Cole against INEC. He noted that the petitioners only called 25 witnesses, with only 3.6 percent of their witness depositions adopted, which amounted to a failure.
Lawyers to Ododo and the APC, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), respectively, also urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition for lacking merit and being statute-barred.
However, the petitioners’ lawyer, Pius Akubo (SAN), faulted the respondents’ claims, arguing that the petition was filed out of time and that there was no sufficient evidence that led to support their case.
“I urge your lordship to hold that we filed this petition within time under our law,” he said.
Akubo prayed to the tribunal to allow the petition and reverse Ododo’s victory.
