…Dismisses Murtala Ajaka’s appeal in entirety
The Supreme Court on Friday, August 23, 2024 validated the election of Ahmed Usman Ododo as the validly elected governor of Kogi State.
The Supreme Court in the unanimous decision, held that Murtala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), failed to give cogent and verifiable evidence in the series of allegations he made against Governor Ododo.
Friday’s decision of the apex court finally put paid to the efforts of Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), to invalidate the November 11, 2023 in which Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the joint appeal of Ajaka with the SDP for lacking in merit and substance.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Sadiq Abubakar Umar threw out Ajaka’s appeal after resolving all the three issues in dispute against him.
Justice Umar also held that most of the allegations by Ajaka were pre-election matters which ought to have been taken to the Federal High Court for resolution before the election and therefore dismissed the appeal but, did not award cost against Ajaka and the SDP.
The apex court also upheld the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the grievances of Ajaka against the election of Ododo.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on July 11, 2024, affirmed Ahmed Usman Ododo of the APC as the validly elected governor of Kogi state.
A three-member panel of the appellate Court had in a unanimous judgment held that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Ajaka failed to prove the allegations contained in their petition challenging Ododo’s election beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
The Appeal Court held that the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which sat in Abuja was right to have expunged the evidence of the first witness called by the petitioners for been hearsay evidence.
The Court particularly held that the allegation of forgery of document which Ododo was alleged to have submitted to INEC was a pre-election matter which ought to have been handled by the Federal High Court and not the post-election Tribunal.
Similarly, the Governorship Election Tribunal had on May 27, 2024 affirmed the victory of Governor Ododo and the APC in the November 11, 2023 Kogi governorship election.
