Edevie v. Orohwedor & Ors (2022)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

TIJJANI ABUBAKAR, J.S.C. (Delivering the Lead Judgment)

This appeal is against the judgment of the Court of Appeal Abuja Judicial Division, delivered on the 29th day of August 2022 in appeal number CA/ABJ/CV/778/2022.

Just by way of summary of facts grounding this appeal, the Appellant herein was the Plaintiff at the trial Court while the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents were 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants at the trial Court.

In the originating summons commencing the action at the trial Court, the Plaintiff posed five questions for determination and sought for seven reliefs. The questions are therefore set out as follows:

1. “Whether in view of the clear and unambiguous provisions of Section 177 (d) and 182 (1) (j) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), read together with Section 29 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the 1st Defendant is not disqualified from taking part in or otherwise contesting any/or all the stages of election into the office of Governor of Delta State in the 2023 Governorship Elections in Delta State having made false depositions on oath voluntarily in various affidavits and presented false and/or forged documents.

2. Whether having regard to the provisions of Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act, 2022, Section 177(d) and Section 182(1) (j) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the fact that the 1st Defendant submitted and relied on false information, dubious and forged documents/certificates in order to participate in and be declared the winner of the 2nd Defendant’s primary election which held on 25th May, 2022, the 1st Defendant herein is not disqualified and ineligible to contest the 2023 Delta State Governorship Elections as the lawful candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant in the forthcoming Governorship elections in Delta State, now scheduled for 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.
3. Whether in the circumstances of this case, the Plaintiff who, next to the ineligible and unqualified 1st Defendant, scored the highest number of valid votes cast at the Delta State Governorship Primary Elections of the 2nd Defendant which was held on 25th May 2022, ought not to be declared and returned as the winner of the said Primaries and, accordingly, the candidate and flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant in the 2023 Governorship Elections in Delta State, now scheduled to hold on 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.

4. Whether having regard to the provisions of Section 29 (5) of the Electoral Act 2022, Section 177(d) and Section 182(1) (j) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the fact that the 1st Defendant submitted and, relied on false information, dubious and forged documents/certificates in order to participate in and be declared the winner of the 2nd Defendant’s primary election which held on 25th May, 2022, whether the 2nd Defendant herein is not precluded or otherwise prohibited from submitting forwarding or transmitting the name of the 1st Defendant to the 3rd Defendant as the lawful candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant in the forthcoming Governorship elections in Delta State, now scheduled for 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.
5. Whether the 3rd Defendant, being an independent, unbiased Electoral Umpire, ought or should not be restrained, precluded or prohibited from accepting or receiving from or otherwise recognizing or giving effect to the name of the 1st Defendant that may have or

may be sent to it as the candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant 11th March, for the 2023 forthcoming by the 3rd Defendant. Gubernatorial election in Delta State now fixed for 11th March 2023 by the 3rd Defendant”

The reliefs sought by the Appellant as Plaintiff at the trial Court are also set out below as follows:

1. “A DECLARATION that the 1st Defendant is not qualified to participate and/or be declared the winner of the 2nd Defendants Delta Governorship Primary elections held on the 25th May, 2022 the Defendant herein is legally precluded from submitting, forwarding or otherwise transmitting the name of the 1st Defendant to the 3rd Defendant as the candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant in the forthcoming Governorship elections in Delta State, now scheduled to hold on 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendants.
2. A DECLARATION that having supplied false information and submitted dubious or forged credentials/certificates in order to participate in and be declared the winner of the 2nd Defendant’s Delta State Governorship Primary elections which was held on 25th May, 2022, the 2nd Defendant herein is legally precluded from submitting, forwarding or otherwise transmitting the name of the 1st Defendant to the 3rd Defendant as the candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant in the forthcoming Governorship elections in Delta State, now scheduled to hold on 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendants.
3. A DECLARATION that the Plaintiff who, next to the ineligible and unqualified 1st Defendant, scored the highest number of valid votes cast at the Delta State Governorship Primary elections of the 2nd Defendant which was held on 25th May, 2022, ought to and should be returned and the declared the winner of the 2nd Defendant’s Governorship Primaries and, accordingly, returned as the candidate of the Defendant for the forthcoming Governorship elections in Delta State scheduled to hold on 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.
4. A DECLARATION that the 1st Defendant should and ought to be prohibited, inhibited, prevented or otherwise restrained from holding out, parading and/or advertising himself as the candidate of the 2nd Defendant for the forthcoming Gubernatorial the 3rd Defendant. Elections in Delta State scheduled to hold on 11th March 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.
5. A DECLARATION that the 3rd Defendant is legally precluded or prohibited from accepting or receiving from, or acting on or otherwise recognising or giving effect to the name of the 1st Defendant as the candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd Defendant for the forthcoming Gubernatorial elections in Delta State now scheduled for 11th March 2023, by the 3rd Defendant.

6. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court disqualifying the 1st Defendant from participating as the candidate of the 2nd Defendant in the forthcoming 2023 Gubernatorial elections in Delta State, scheduled for 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.
7. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court commanding directing or otherwise mandating the 2nd and 3rd Defendants to replace, forthwith, the name of the 1st Defendant with that of the Plaintiff as the lawful candidate of the 2nd Defendant for the forthcoming Gubernatorial elections in Delta State, now scheduled for 11th March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant.”

​In proof of the infantry of allegations against the 1st Defendant at the trial Court, the Plaintiff said the 1st Respondent as Defendant presented false information, documents and forged certificates to the 2nd Respondent in a bid to satisfy the constitutional requirements for contesting the election into the office of the Governor of Delta State.

The Plaintiff submitted that the 1st Respondent was in fact not qualified to contest for the said office. The Plaintiff tendered various exhibits submitted by the 1st Respondent to the 2nd Respondent. In sum, therefore, the Plaintiff alleged that the said certificates presented to the 2nd Respondent were false and did not represent his earned credentials, they did not, therefore, belong to him.

​The Primary School leaving certificate presented by the 1st Respondent containing the name OBOREVWORI FRANCIS dated 6th July 1981 was issued in respect of examinations held in 1977, while exhibit G the West African Senior School certificate for June 1999 in the name of OBOREVWORI O. FRANCIS reflects the date of birth as 12th November 1979. From the facts disclosed herein, by this date of birth therefore arising from the calculations of the Appellant, the 1st Respondent wrote his first leaving school certificate two years before he was born.

The affidavit sworn to by Benson Ogolo and submitted by the 1st Respondent in proof of his age is in favour of one individual known and called FRANCIS OBORGUVORI, a name entirely different from the names in exhibits G and F presented by the 1st Respondent.

The Appellant contended that the 1st Respondent presented false information and documents to the 2nd Respondent. Appellant also contended that the Respondent in a previous election in 2019 presented forged certificate to INEC in the form of Exhibit G, the West African School Certificate. Upon thorough evaluation of all the evidence, the trial Court held that the Plaintiff had established his claim and therefore granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff. The 1st Respondent was accordingly removed as the successful candidate and in his place, the Appellant was by the order of the trial Court made the candidate of the party for the gubernatorial election.

​The conclusion reached by the trial Court did not go down well with the 1st Respondent, he therefore commenced an appeal against the decision of the trial Court. The Appellant filed two notices of appeal on the 8th day of July 2022 and 20th July 2022. At the lower Court, the 1st Respondent filed a preliminary objection against the notices of appeal and grounds of appeal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 16, and 17; the lower Court however heard and dismissed the objections, the appeal was therefore heard and determined on the merit.

The lower Court held the view that the action ought to have been commenced by writ, that the action was premature on the basis of Sections 29 (1) (2) (3) (4) and (5) of the Electoral Act, that the Appellant ought to have waited for the submission of the name of the 1st Respondent to the 3rd Respondent before commencing the action.