Supreme Court Dismisses Adeyemi’s Appeal Against Ododo, Orders Payment Of N2 Million

The Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed the appeal by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgment of the lower courts, on the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Kogi State.

Adeyemi had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the primary election of the APC which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming Kogi governorship election.

Adeyemi’s case was, however, dismissed by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit. The Senator then filed an appeal before the apex court.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court held that the appeal lacked merit, having failed to challenge the concurrent findings of both the High and Appeal courts or demonstrate that the same were perverse.

The court said, “There is nothing on the Notice of Appeal of the appellant showing a challenge as to the perverseness of the findings of the two lower courts.

“The appellant never alleged that there was no evidence to support the findings of the two lower courts. This Court has no power to revisit those issues of facts raised in the Notice of Appeal unless there is an allegation that the findings were perverse.”

The apex court also held that the two issues raised in the appellant’s brief were unreasonable, vexatious, not triable, and against the provisions of Sections 132 and 133(1) of the Evidence Act 2011.

The apex court, therefore, ordered that the sum of N1m be paid to the first and third respondents in the matter.

The court also described as contemptuous, the practice of parties appearing on TV stations to discuss pending appeals.

The court said: “You go saying on television that if the court is a court of justice, the appeal should go in your favour.

“The court frowns at this practice. Once you’ve engaged a lawyer, go and rest.

“I am giving this elaborate talk so that you don’t go out and say things that are not reasonable. The Court is manned by reasonable persons.”