BREAKING: Adeleke Floors Oyetola At Appeal Court

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, upheld the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

The appellate court set aside the judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal, which had on January 27, 2023 ruled that the former governor of the state and Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adegboyega Oyetola, won the July 16, 2022 governorship election.

The three-man panel held that the appellant did not commit forgery as well as the fact that the report of the INEC server that gave Oyetola the tribunal victory was not applicable at all, because BVAS is the primary source of accreditation for the election.

The appeal court therefore set aside the judgement of the tribunal, and upheld the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

HOW ADELEKE ADEMOLA WON

1. Resolved that the Tribunal was not right to have rejected the judgment of the Court of Appeal that cleared Adeleke of forgery.

In short issue of forgery has been settled by the Court of Appeal. The Tribunal was wrong to have held forgery against Adeleke.

2. Issues 5 & 7: Preference of server report for BVAS machines and the report of inspection. Also the issue of transmission  of results by way of manual collation.

Resolved that BVAS machine is the primary source

3. Voters register is intrinsically part of accreditation. Section 137 of the Electoral Act, only lightens the burden of the petitioner not to totally remove the burden. 

To prove overvoting, voters register must be tendered.

4. Oyetola's witness not an expert which he held himself out to be. PW 1 claimed to be an expert, he did not give evidence of his qualifications, he did not deny his membership of the APC.

His evidence was barren.

5. Further resolving the issue of over-voting, the Tribunal only relied on the Table provided by Oyetola and APC to give judgment in their favour. 

The Tribunal was wrong because there was no evidence to support such claim of over-voting.

6. Voters register is intrinsically part of accreditation. Section 137 of the Electoral Act, only lightens the burden of the petitioner not to totally remove the burden. 

To prove overvoting, voters register must be tendered.

7. FINAL VERDICT

The Appeal Court has set aside the Tribunal judgment of 27th January and affirmed the judgment of Gov. Ademola Adeleke.