Hon. Ayanyinka Timothy Olusegun & Anor V. Hon. Olateju Ademola Ajadi & Ors. (2010)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

MODUPE FASANMI, J.C.A (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Tribunal Sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State delivered on the 29th of January 2008. The Tribunal dismissed the petition of the Appellants challenging the return of their 1st Respondent as the winner of Ogbomosho South Constituency of Oyo State House of Assembly.

The Appellants Hon. Ayanyinka Timothy Olusegun and Labour Party by a petition dated 9th May 2007 challenged the declaration and the return of the 1st Respondent Hon. Olateju Ademola Ajadi who was sponsored by the 2nd Respondent for the election of 14/4/2007 conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (I.N.E.C) based on grounds of rigging, violence, perpetrated by the 1st and 2nd Respondents, malpractices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2006 by the 3rd-6th Respondents. All were pleaded and set out in paragraph 13 of the petition.

It is the contention of the Appellants that:

(1) There was no accreditation of voters

(2) That citizens were intimidated and chased away from polling booths

(3) No voting took place

(4) That there was no counting of votes in the polling booths as the agents did not sign the results sheets.

Appellants being dissatisfied with the Judgment of the Tribunal appealed to this court. The notice of appeal filed against the judgment is contained at pages 286-292 of the record of proceedings. The notice of appeal contained eight grounds of appeal and was filed on the 19th of February, 2008. In compliance with the Rules of this Court, Appellants filed their brief of argument on the 21st of July 08. 1st and 2nd Respondents’ filed their brief of argument on the 10th of September, 08 while the 3rd-6th Respondents filed their brief of argument on 6/1/09 but deemed properly filed on 30/6/09.

Appellants distilled five issues for determination as follows:

(1) Whether the non-joinder of the presiding Officers in the units and wards of Ogbomosho South constituency was fatal to the petition of the Appellants

(2) Whether the election tribunal was not in error by failing to invalidate the return of the 1st Respondent considering the specific pleading and uncontroverted evidence on non-accreditation of voters by the 3rd-6th Respondents and their agents

(3) Whether the non-nullification of the returns/declaration of the 1st Respondent by the Election tribunal was proper in view of the pleadings, evidence and finding by the tribunal on record of violence, intimidation, thuggery and malpractices perpetrated by the 1st and 2nd Respondents agents

(4) Whether the lower tribunal was wrong in their judgment having failed to critically examine the – results forms placed before it in the light of the oral evidence proffered before the tribunal before holding that the Petitioners failed woefully to rebut the presumption of genuiness of the result forms from I.N.E.C