Kogiflame
A Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory has dismissed a suit filed by an aspirant in the All Progressives Congress’ governorship primaries in Kogi State, Senator Smart Adeyemi, against the emergence of the candidate of the party, Usman Ododo, saying it lacks merit.
Delivering judgement in the suit marked “FHC/CS/556/2023 Smart Adeyemi v. APC & 2 Ors”, on Wednesday, Justice J.K. Omotosho held that Adeyemi’s allegations were criminal in nature, as he alleged that elections did not hold and that the produced results were forged.
He said the Applicant needed to prove the allegations of forgery, falsification of results,
beyond reasonable doubts.
The court noted that the burden rests on the Applicant to produce the forged result or the original and the forged results to discharge the burden, adding that failure to discharge the burden “is fatal to the case of the Applicant.”
Justice Omotosho also held that the allegation that the election did not hold was also not substantiated as the Applicant only provided evidence from his Ward in Ijumu LGA.
He said, in any case, this evidence was denied by the Respondents who attached the monitoring reports of INeC, which has the duty to monitor the election.
“In this case, INEC attached its monitoring report and also attached copies of the result, police report confirming the conduct of the election signed by the Commissioner of Police, the case of the Applicant has no basis,” he said.
Justice Omotosho therefore dismissed the case for lacking in merit.
Concluding, he said, “In the final analysis, having reviewed all the evidence in this matter, I have no doubt that the APC primary election result held in all the wards of Kogi State on the 14th day of April 2023 and I so hold.
“This Honourable Court will not allow the will of a few just like that of the Applicant to overide the will of the majority. The Applicant’s case has no merit. It is hereby dismissed.”
Reacting to the judgement, Senator Adeyemi, through his counsel, said he would take the case to the appellate court, insisting that the trial court failed to properly evaluate the proof of evidence that was placed before it by the parties and that, there were inconsistencies in the report that was tendered by INEC and affidavit that was deposed by the APC.
Adeyemi alleged that, whereas INEC claimed that option A4 mode was adopted for the primary election it monitored, the APC, told the court that the election was through secret ballot.
The former lawmaker had in a 35 paragraph affidavit he filed in support of his originating summons, told the court that he obtained nomination and expression of interest forms from the party at the cost of N50 million, following which he was screened and cleared to participate in the primary election that was slated for April 14, 2023.
Adeyemi told the court that while he waited at his constituency to cast his vote along with his people, he was shocked when information came to him that the purported primary election had been conducted and a purported winner declared.
He alleged that governor Bello had initially asked all other aspirants to step down for his preferred candidate, Ododo, who is from the same zone with him.
The plaintiff told the court that by political arrangement, it ought to be the turn of Kogi West, which had not produced a governor in the history of the state.
More so, Adeyemi, alleged that governor Bello manipulated the whole process to ensure that his first cousin from the same polling unit, from the same ward, from the same local government and from the same tribe, Mr Ododo, emerged as the governorship candidate of the party, against the laid down rules and regulations.
He told the court that governor Bello had among other things, presided over a panel where figures were allotted in favour of Ododo.
Adeyemi further claimed that the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, who was supposed to preside over and announced the winner of the primary election, left Kogi state in annoyance so as to dissasociate himself from the outcome of what they described as shambolic primary election.
He prayed the court to nullify the governorship primary election and order the APC to conduct a fresh one.
