Kogi APC: Court Reserves Judgment In Smart Adeyemi’s Appeal Seeking To Nullify Ododo’s Candidacy

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in the appeal brought before it by Senator Smart Adeyemi.

Naija News understands that the Kogi West senator had approached the court with a file suit seeking to nullify the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the November 11 governorship election.

It could be recalled that Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, in a judgment delivered on July 12, held that Adeyemi did not prove his allegation that the APC did not lawfully nominate Ododo.

In his ruling on a suit marked FHC/CS/556/2023, Justice Omotosho held that Adeyemi’s allegations of result forgery were criminal in nature and must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Omotosho eventually dismissed the suit in its entirety on the base that it lacked merit and substance.

Adeyemi, unsatisfied with the judgment, proceeded to the Appellate Court to set aside the judgment.

The Senator insisted 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 tendered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the affidavit that the APC deposed to.

He said while INEC claimed that option A4 mode was adopted for the primary election it monitored, the APC told the court that the election was through a secret ballot.

However, when the matter came up on Wednesday (today), Counsel in the matter identified and adopted their processes filed in respect of the matter and the three-member panel of Justices of the court, led by Justice Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu, reserved judgment to a date that would be communicated to parties.

Adeyemi had alleged in his suit that the primary election that purportedly produced Ododo as the APC governorship candidate did not hold and that the results were forged.