Supreme Court Dismisses Smart Adeyemi’s Appeal Against APC, Ododo

…Orders him to pay respondents N1m each 

The Supreme Court, on Monday, October 23, 2023 dismissed an appeal filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgments of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court over the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress held in Kogi State on April 15, 2023.

The apex Court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, held that the appeal lacked merit, having failed to challenge the concurrent findings of both the Federal High Court and the Appeal Court or demonstrate that same were perverse.

The Supreme Court further held that the two issues raised in the Adeyemi’s suit were unreasonable, vexatious, not triable and against the provisions of Section 132 and 133(1) of the Evidence Act 2011.

Adeyemi, who lost the APC Governorship primary, filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the Party primary which witnessed the emergence of Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the state’s governorship election slated for November 11.

Adeyemi lost at both the federal High Court and the Court of Appeal which described his case as lacking merit.

He therefore sought an order of the Supreme Court to set aside the judgments of the lower courts and allow his appeal by granting all the reliefs sought in his originating summons.

But, in its judgement on Monday, the Supreme Court struck out Adeyemi’s first notice of Appeal having relied on the 2nd Notice of Appeal filed and held that the power of the Apex Court in respect of appeals against concurrent findings of the two lower Courts could only be exercised when the findings were alleged to be perverse.

Justice Agim tongue lashed Adeyemi for appearing on Television stations and making unacceptable and unwarranted comments while his case was pending in court, saying that such was contemptuous.

In the words of Justice Agim; “The practice of parties appearing on TV stations to discuss pending appeals is contemptuous. You went saying on television that if the court is a court of justice, the appeal should go in your favour. The court frowns at this practice. Once you have 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 Agim declared.

The Supreme Court also said; “There is nothing on the Notice of Appeal of the Appellant showing a challenge as to the perverseness of the findings of the two lower courts.

“The Appellant never alleged that there was no evidence to support the findings of the two lower Courts. This Court has no power to revisit those issues of facts raised in the Notice of Appeal unless there is an allegation that the findings were perverse.

“On the whole, this appeal fails. The Appellant shall pay the cost of N1 million each to the 1st and 3rd Respondents (the governorship candidate and the APC),” the Supreme Court ordered.

At the proceedings, Dapo Otitoju represented Adeyemi while Abdulwahab Muhammed, SAN, represented the APC and Umar Abdulhamid for the 2nd Respondent just as M. Y Abdullahi, SAN, stood for the 3rd Respondent.

The Court of Appeal had on August 18, 2023, held that the appeal argued by Adekunle Oladapo Otitoju on behalf of Adeyemi was completely bereft of merit.

In the absence of cogent and verifiable evidence on the part of Adeyemi, the Court of Appeal held that his allegations remained mere assertions that could not enjoy any probative value.