Hon. Mulikat Akande-adeola & Anor V. Hon. Ogunwuyi Ebenezer Segun & Ors (2015)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

MONICA BOLNA’AN DONGBAN-MENSEM J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

The Appellant took out this appeal to challenge the decision of the Oyo State National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal which on the 1st of July 2015 dismissed the petition of the Appellant.The reason for the decision is that the Appellants had failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of the 1st Schedule of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended).

The Appellants are aggrieved and charge that the learned members of the Tribunal erroneously followed the decisions in Okechukwu v. INEC & Ors (2014) 9 SCNJ 47 @ 78 and Omisore v. Aregbesola SC 204/2015 which are totally distinguishable and inapplicable to the facts and circumstances of the petition.

The facts which led to this appeal are as follows: On the 28th of March 2015, elections were held into the Ogbomoso North, South and Orire Federal Constituency into the Federal House of Representatives. The 1st Appellant and the 1st Respondent were candidates of the 2nd Petitioner and 2nd Respondent respectively. At the conclusion of the election, the 1st Respondent was declared the winner having polled 33,908 votes to defeat

the 1st Petitioner who scored 19,514 votes.

Being disgruntled by the declaration of the 1st Respondent as the winner of the election, the Appellants filed a petition on the 17th of April 2015.They sought the following reliefs:

1. A declaration that Labour party never conducted any primary election wherein the 1st Respondent was selected and or nominated as candidate of the party in the General Election held on the 28th day of March, 2015.
2. A declaration that the 1st Respondent is not qualified to contest the General Election held on the 28th day of March, 2015 under Labour Party when he was still a member of PDP.
3. An order of the Tribunal directing the 3rd Respondent to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the 1st Respondent for not having qualified to contest the general election held on the 28th March 2015 and his return as the winner is null and void.
4. An order of the Tribunal directing the 3rd Respondent to issue a certificate of return to the Petitioner on having polled the highest lawful votes cast at the general election held on the 28th of March 2015 be declared the winner.
5. An order of the Tribunal directing the 1st Respondent to refund

all the monies received or collected from the National Assembly, if any as his statutory emoluments, payments and any other payments made to him.

Paragraph 6 of the petition states the grounds thus:

(1) That the Respondent was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election.

?(2) That by virtue of the mandatory provision of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Sections 85, 87 and 141 of the Electoral Act (as amended), the 1st and 2nd Respondent?s neither conducted, contested the 2nd Respondent?s primary election and participated at the general election conducted by 3rd respondent to the House of Representatives held on the 28th March 2015.

In response to the Petition, the 1st Respondent filed the following processes:

(i) 1st Respondent’s Reply dated 20/5/15 together with other accompanying processes such as witness statement on oath, list of witnesses, list of documents to be relied on e.t.c. (see pages 61-128 of the records).

?(ii) Motion on notice dated 4th 2015 seeking to set aside the service of the petition on the 1st Respondent (see pages 197-215 of the records for this appeal which was transmitted to this Court on the 14th July

2015).