Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola & 2 Ors V. Olagunsoye Oyinlola & 2 Ors (2010)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

CLARA BATA OGUNBIYI, J.C.A (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This appeal is against the judgment of the Governorship and Legislative House Election petition (Retrial) Tribunal holden at Osogbo, Osun State (Coram: Justices Ali Garba, Benedict E. Agbattah, Ismaila H. Bashir, Muhammad T. M. Aliyu and Abimbola O Obaseki) delivered on 28th day of May, 2010. The Notice of Appeal is contained at pages 546 to 601 of Volume 7 of the Record of Appeal.

The brief facts of this case are that on the 14th April, 2007, the 4th Respondent conducted an election for the office of the Governor of Osun State.

The 3rd petitioner/Appellant sponsored the 1st and 2nd Petitioners/Appellants as its Governorship and Deputy Governorship Candidates, respectively, in the said election while the 3rd Respondent sponsored the 1st and 2nd Respondents as its governorship and deputy governorship candidates also respectively. At the end of the exercise, the 4th Respondent announced that the 1st Respondent scored a total of 426,666 votes as against the 1st petitioner’s 240,722 and consequently declared the 1st Respondent duly elected and returned as the Governor of Osun State.

Dissatisfied with the conduct and result of the election, the petitioners/Appellants on 11th May, 2007, filed the petition at the Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Petition Tribunal holden at Osogbo, Osun State claiming the following reliefs against the Respondents at paragraphs 158 and 159 at pages 211-213 of the record as follows:

“158.1 That votes recorded and/or returned in the following Local Government namely Atakumosa west Local Government, Ayedaade Local Government, Boluwaduro Local Government, Boripe Local Government, Ede North Local Government, Ife Central Local Government, Ifedayo Local Government, Isokan Local Government, Odo-Otin Local Government and Ola Oluwa Local Government, do not represent lawful votes cast in the said Local Government areas in the Osun State Governorship Election held on the 14th April, 2007 and as having been obtained in vitiating circumstances of substantial noncompliance with mandatory provisions of Electoral Act, 2006, violence and malpractices 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 said affected Local Government Areas.

158.2 That the said Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast in the Osun state Governorship Election held on April 14, 2007 and that his election is void.

158.3 That Rauf Aregbesola was elected and ought to have been returned having scored the highest number of votes cast in the Osun State Governorship Election held on April 14, 2007, and satisfied the requirements of the section 179 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and the Electoral Act, 2006.

158.4 That the 1st petitioner be declared validly elected or returned.

159. The Petitioners pray ALTERNATIVELY AND ONLY IN THE ALTERNATIVE –

159.1. That the Osun State Governorship Election held on April 14, 2007 is void on the ground that the election was not conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Electoral Act, 2006.

159.2. 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.

153.7. That the Osun State Governorship Election held on the 14th of April, 2007 be nullified or cancelled and the 4th Respondent is to conduct fresh elections for the office of the Governor of Osun State.”

It is the Appellants’ case that the 1st Respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election; that the results announced by the 4th Respondent for the ten Local Governments namely: Atakunmosa West, Ayedaade, Boluwaduro, Boripe, lfe Central, lfe East, Ife South, Ifedayo, Isokan and Odo-Otin Local Governments are not and do not represent results of the lawful and valid votes cast thereat and that the purported elections were vitiated by substantial non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of the Electoral Act, 2006.

It was also the petitioners case that no election was conducted in several polling stations and wards in the said Local Governments and that in few areas where elections were held, the elections were marred by violence. The petitioners also made the case that the elections were inconclusive, wherein votes were not counted and results were not recorded in forms EC8A and were not also announced in most polling stations and wards.