Kogi West: Tribunal Reserves Judgement On Adeyemi’s Petition Over Melaye’s Victory

The Kogi State National Assembly/State Assembly Elections
Petition tribunal on Tuesday reserved judgment on the petition
filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi over the Kogi west senatorial
election.

Adeyemi is challenging the declaration of Senator Dino Melaye as
the winner of the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had
declared Melaye as the winner of the February 23 national assembly
election following which Adeyemi approached the election tribunal
to challenge the results of the election.

The three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice A.O
Chijioke, however, reserved the judgement after the parties had
adopted their final written addresses.

Adopting the address, Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN), who was counsel
to Melaye asked the court to dismiss the petitioner as the
documents presented by the petitioners were “mere hearsay
documents”.

But Adeyemi’s counsel, Dapo Otitoju, asked the court to nullify
the election on three grounds.

According to him, the first ground was that INEC decision to
collate and announce the results of the election in Lokoja was
against the Federal High Court judgement which stipulated Kabba as
the headquarters of the senatorial district showed that the
election negated the constitution and electoral acts; and a
substantial ground to nullify the election.

He stressed that INEC disobedience to the Federal High Court
ruling when they did not appeal the judgment revealed that the
electoral umpire had a hidden agenda.

The second ground, according to the counsel, was whether the
presentation of the certified true copy of PVC distribution in Kogi
West which revealed 48,200 excess votes in the result declared for
the senatorial district is not enough ground to nullify the
election.

Otitoju also urged the tribunal to take note of mutilation of
votes that was visible in the result sheet, saying the mutilation
was occasioned by the change of venue of collation centres by the
electoral umpire.

He urged the tribunal to quash the election because it did not
comply with the constitution and the electoral acts; and the
position of the people who voted.

The tribunal, after listening to the adopted final briefs of
arguments, reserved judgement, saying counsels involved will be
communicated.

The tribunal has 30 days left out of the 120 days earmarked for
its sittings.