The Court of Appeal in Abuja confirmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Kogi on Thursday.
In a unanimous judgment, a three-member panel led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi ruled that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, failed to substantiate their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law.
The court also dismissed the appeals filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and its governorship candidate, Olayinka Braimoh, as well as the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and its governorship candidate, Dr. Abdullahi Bayawo, challenging Ododo’s victory.
Justice Otisi, delivering the judgment on the SDP and Ajaka’s appeal, concurred with the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s earlier decision. She stated that the tribunal was correct in disregarding the evidence of the first prosecution witness (PW-1) because it was considered documentary hearsay.
Witnesses, whether subpoenaed or not, are required to submit their witness statements on oath, she noted. “The tribunal’s order to expunge PW-1’s evidence stands valid. The law empowers the lower court to discard inadmissible evidence,” she said.
Justice Otisi found the petitioners’ witnesses incompetent as their statements did not accompany the petition per electoral laws. She also pointed out inconsistencies in the appellants’ case.
She clarified that the forgery allegations against Ododo’s documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are pre-election matters, handled by the Federal High Court, not the tribunal. These actions occurred before the November 11, 2023, governorship election, and thus cannot be judged by the tribunal.
Forgery allegations must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, which the appellants failed to do. The judge explained, “An affidavit of loss attached to Form EC8 by the 2nd defendant (Ododo) is not a certificate. There is no reason to overturn the lower tribunal’s decision as the appellants failed to prove their claims.”
Justice Otisi resolved all issues in the appeal against the appellants, dismissing the appeal for lack of merit and ruling that each party bears its own costs.
The tribunal had previously affirmed Gov. Ododo’s victory in the November 11, 2023, Kogi governorship election on May 27. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, found the petition lacking in substance and dismissed it.
The tribunal ruled that the SDP and Ajaka could not prove allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022. It also noted that all witness evidence presented was incompetent and inconsistent. The tribunal agreed with the respondents that forgery allegations should have been raised within 14 days of submitting documents to INEC.
In the November 11, 2023, off-cycle election, Ododo of the APC emerged victorious, defeating his closest rival, Ajaka of the SDP, by a significant margin.
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