The Court of Appeal in Abuja rendered a verdict on Friday, discarding an appeal brought forward by Senator Smart Adeyemi. The appeal aimed to invalidate the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, which resulted in Ahmed Usman Ododo emerging as the party’s candidate for the November 11 election.
The appellate court ruled that the appeal presented by Adekunle Oladapo Otitoju on behalf of Senator Adeyemi was devoid of merit and was subsequently dismissed.
In a unanimous decision from a panel of three justices, Adeyemi, who recently represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate, was unable to substantiate the allegations he raised against the conduct of the APC’s primary election and its leadership.
Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaib, who provided the lead judgment, resolved all three contested matters against Adeyemi. Shuaib noted that the criminal nature of the allegations, which included manipulation and falsification of primary election results, required proof beyond a reasonable doubt as stipulated by law.
Furthermore, the justice dismissed an additional claim made by the appellant, alleging that he was denied a fair hearing by the Appeal Committee of the APC concerning his petition against the alleged improper conduct during the primary election. He pointed out that the issue of being denied a fair hearing was not initially raised in the originating summons at the Federal High Court, making it impermissible to introduce it as a new issue at the Court of Appeal.
As Adeyemi failed to present compelling and substantiated evidence, the Court of Appeal concluded that his allegations amounted to mere assertions without substantial probative value. Consequently, Justice Shuaib dismissed the appeal due to its lack of merit.
The Court of Appeal upheld the judgment issued by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 12. This prior judgment had established that Adeyemi was unable to substantiate his claims that Ododo’s nomination by the APC was not done in accordance with the law.
