The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday upheld Usman Ododo’s election as the Governor of Kogi State.
The three-member panel of justices ruled in favor of Ododo of the All Progressives Congress, agreeing with the state election tribunal’s decision that the Social Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, failed to substantiate their claims in their petition.
In its judgment, the Appeal Court found that the SDP and Ajaka did not meet the required legal standard to prove their allegations beyond reasonable doubt. Specifically, the court determined that the witnesses presented by the petitioners were deemed incompetent because their statements did not accompany the petition as required by electoral laws.
The court also addressed the issue of alleged certificate forgery against Ododo, ruling that such a matter should have been initiated at the Federal High Court as a pre-election issue rather than in the appeal.
The court’s decision confirmed that the appellants could not prove their case, and thus, Ododo’s election was upheld.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, SDP and Ajaka had initially filed the petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission, Ododo, and the APC, listed as the 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively.
