Aderemi Olatunde Ayeleru V. Mukaila Adegbola & 120 Others (2010)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

STANLEY SHENKO ALAGOA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal by the Appellant who was the Petitioner in the Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Petition Tribunal, Osun State Holden at Osogbo in Petition No. HA/EPT/OS/10/2007 against the judgment of the said Tribunal Coram: Honourable Justices T. D. Naron (Chairman), Saadu Mohammed (Member), J. N. Akpughunum (Member), A. T. Badamosi (Member) and J. E. Ekanem (Member) delivered on the 27th June 2008 wherein the petition was dismissed by the Honourable Tribunal as lacking in merit.

It is pertinent to state at the outset and in a nutshell the facts that have led to the present appeal. Elections were held into the Osun State House of Assembly on the 14th April 2007 and the present Appellant Aderemi Olatunde Ayeleru contested the election on the platform of the Action Congress for Odo Otin Constituency.

The 1st Respondent Mukaila Adegbola Oyekunle was sponsored for the said election to the Odo Otin Constituency seat to the Osun State House of Assembly by the 2nd Respondent, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) being one of the Registered political parties in Nigeria. At the end of the election the 3rd Respondent – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which conducted the election declared the 1st Respondent winner and returned him as having been duly elected to the said Osun State House of Assembly representing the Odo Otin Constituency.

Dissatisfied with this declaration, the Petitioner filed a petition in which he claimed the following reliefs as per paragraph 42 of the Petition as follows –

42.1 That the election to the Osun State House of Assembly for Odo Otin Constituency held on the 14th April 2007 is invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2006 and that the said election was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with the mandatory statutory requirements which substantially affected the validity of the said elections that none of the candidates in the said election can be validly returned as having validly won the said election.

42.2 “That the Osun State House of Assembly Election for Odo Otin Constituency held on the 14th April 2007 is nullified and the 4th Respondent is to conduct fresh elections for the Osun State House of Assembly Elections for Odo Otin Constituency.

The Petitioner gave as grounds and facts upon which the petition relies, the following –

Paragraph 12.1 of the Petition – The House of Assembly election for Odo Otin Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly in the said election are not correct (are untrue in every respect) and thus invalid by reason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and or its principles which said non-compliance substantially affected the result at the said State House of Assembly election in Osun State.

Paragraph 12.2 – Your Petitioners claim that the House of Assembly election for Odo Otin Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly in the said election was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with the mandatory statutory requirements of both the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2006 which substantially affected the validity of the said elections that none of the candidates in the said elections can be validly returned as having validly won in the House of Assembly election for Odo Otin Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly in the said election.

Paragraph 12.3 – The Conduct of the election is marred by widespread irregularities and malpractices resulting in substantial non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act 2006 in particular sections 28, 63(1)-(2), 64(1)-(4), 66 and 75.

Paragraph 12.4 – There was widespread disenfranchisement of so many voters and this substantially affected the results of the election thus vitiating the said election.

The Respondents filed their respective replies to the Petition. After the exchange of pleadings and filing of answers to pre-hearing questions, trial commenced and upon the adoption of final written addresses by the Counsel to the parties, the Tribunal delivered its judgment on the 27th June 2008 giving rise to this appeal by the Appellant. The Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal on the 17th July 2008 which is contained at pages 483-497 of the Record of Appeal. This Notice of Appeal was by order of this Court amended and an Amended Notice of Appeal filed on the 3rd September 2008 was deemed properly filed and served on the Respondents on the 30th September 2009. The said Amended Notice of Appeal consists of twelve Grounds of Appeal itemized hereunder as follows-

Ground 1: Error in Law