The Supreme Court has reserved judgments in over 10 appeals filed on the disputes that arose from the last governorship elections held on 11 November, last year, in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states.
A five-member panel, presided over by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, heard the appeals yesterday and told parties that they would be informed when the judgments are ready.
The first two appeals heard yesterday were those filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Yakubu Muritala Ajaka, as well as that of the Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Olayinka Baimoh.
The SDP, the AA and their candidates are, by their appeals, praying the Supreme Court to set aside the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and election tribunal, which upheld the victory of Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
At the mention of the appeal yesterday, lawyer to Ododo and the SDP, Pius Akubo (SAN), told the court that his clients wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for the constitution of a full panel of the apex court to hear issues raised in paragraphs 4.28 and 4.29 at page 16 of the appellants’ brief of argument.
Akubo said the appellants are, by both paragraphs, paying the court to depart from its previous decisions in determining their appeal.
He said the appellants were waiting for the CJN’s response to their request.
Lawyers to the respondents – Kanu Agabi (SAN) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joseph Daudu (SAN) for Ododo and Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) for the APC – described the application as unnecessary and urged the court, as presently constituted, to proceed to hear the appeal.
Ruling, Justice Garba, who presided over the five-member panel, averred that the issue, on which the appellants are seeking a full panel, was a fraction of the entire appeal.
Justice Garba held that the issue was one out of the three raised in the appeal.
He held that the court, as presently constituted, could hear and determine the appeal.
Justice Garba advised Akubo to proceed with the hearing of the appeal.
Akubo subsequently identified the appellants’ briefs, adopted them and urged the court to allow the appeal, set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and declare Ajaka the duly elected governor of Kogi State.
