Why Appeal Court Threw Out Edevbie’s Forgery Case Against Oborevwori – Lifestyle Nigeria
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, reinstated the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Sherrif Oborevwori, as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state upon the fact that his traducer, Olorogun David Edevbie had not proved the forgery case levelled against the speaker.
The appellate court, gave the assertion in a unanimous judgement by a three-man panel of the court.
Justices led by Justice Olabisi Ige, vacated the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize Mr. Olorogun Edevbie as the bonafide candidate of the PDP for the governorship election in Delta State billed for March 11, 2023.
It held that the high court wrongly relied on Originating Summons Edevbie brought before it to disqualify Oborevwori on the premise that he tendered forged certificates to INEC.
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Ige noted that allegations Edevbie’s raised against Oborevwori “were deeply rooted and founded in criminality”.
He stressed that in view of contentious nature of the allegations, they ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt at the trial court.
According to the appellate court, trial Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the lower court erred when he granted all the reliefs Edevbie sought in his suit, without recourse to evidence of witnesses that would have included institutions that awarded certificates to Oborevwori.
“Facts were irreconcilably in conflict and could not have been resolved without oral evidence”, the appellate court held, adding that the burden of proof in the matter was on the 1st Respondent, Edevbie.
“There is no scintilla of evidence on record to prove that the Appellant tendered forged certificate to the INEC”, the appellate court added.
It further held that Edevbie’s legal action was premature as Oborevwori’s name had not been submitted to INEC by the PDP as at the time it was filed.
The appellate court held that preconditions stipulated in sections 177 and 182 (j)of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as section 29(5) of the Electoral Act, must be met before the right of any aggrieved aspirant to approach the court to challenge the validity of particulars submitted to INEC by any candidate, could crystallize.
It held that the 1st Respondent did not in the entire spectrum of his suit, pinpoint how the PDP breached either the Electoral Act or the 1999 Constitution, as amended, in the governorship primary election it conducted on May 25.
More so, the court held that in the event that the case of the 1st Respondent succeeded, he would not be the beneficiary of the judgement as his political party, PDP, would have been disqualified.
“The decision of the lower court was perverse and its is accordingly set-aside.
“The appellant’s appeal is hereby allowed”, the court held.
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Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal will on October 26 begin a full hearing of the petition filed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the declaration of Senator Ademola Adeleke as governor-elect.
Lifestyle Nigeria reports that the tribunal made this pronouncement after concluding the pre-hearing session on Thursday.
The tribunal was asked to dismiss the applications of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking the discontinuation of the petition brought to it by Governor Oyetola.
Counsel for Oyetola and the APC, Lasun Sanusi, SAN, at the sitting of the tribunal argued that Adeleke’s, PDP’s and INEC’s reliance on a Federal Court High judgment was nothing but an abuse of court process.
Sanusi argued this while replying to separate applications of the trio, seeking the dismissal of the petition based on the already appealed Federal High Court judgment disqualifying Oyetola from contesting the election.
Citing Supreme Court decisions in the case of Jegede Vs INEC, 2021, 14NWLR, Pt 1797, page 409, the counsel said the court had ruled that the signatories to the letter conveying the nomination of a candidate were not the nominators; rather, the nomination was done by party members at the congress, hence, the judgment could not stand.
Meanwhile, the counsel for INEC, Prof. Paul Ananaba, SAN; counsel for Adeleke, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN and counsel for the PDP, Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, agreed that any decision the tribunal would take on the matter would have to wait until the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court decided on it.
They noted that they just decided to argue the applications to have it on record, a position which the tribunal agreed with and put on record.
Also, in other applications totalling nine by the three respondents, they asked the tribunal to strike out some paragraphs of the petition on the grounds that they were either lumped together or not related to the 2022 election.
In response to each of the applications, Sanusi said all the cases cited by the respondents were misconceived, adding that they were not applicable in the instance case.
He cited the case of INEC Vs Otti, 2016, 8NWLR, where the Supreme Court hinted that INEC was supposed to be neutral, arguing that all the processes filed before the panel have not portrayed the commission’s neutrality.
Sanusi further argued that the applications filed by the respondents were only meant to prevent the tribunal from focusing on hearing the petition on merit, asking the panel to dismiss the applications.
Subsequently, counsel for all parties in the matter agreed to begin the full hearing starting with the calling of witnesses on October 26.
In his ruling, the tribunal declared the pre-hearing session concluded and announced that the pre-hearing conference report would be presented on October 17.
NEWS UPDATE?Nigeria Air Force who died in the crashed NAF Alpha-jet that crashed in Borno state laid to rest (photos)
%title% Nigeria Air Force who died in the crashed NAF Alpha-jet that crashed in Borno state laid to rest (photos) Lifestyle Nigeria
The remains of Flight Lieutenant Chapele Ebiakpo, one of the pilots of the NAF Alpha-Jet aircraft that crashed in Maiduguri, Borno state on March 31, 2021, have been laid to rest.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet was declared missing on 31 March 2021 after losing radar contact. The crash site was later discovered and the bodies of the two pilots onboard the ill-fated jet were recovered. The pilots were on the battlefield fight Boko Haram members when the jet crashed.
On Thursday, October 13, friends and family members of the Late Ebiakpo gathered together at the National Military cemetery to bid him farewell. May his soul rest in peace, Amen.
<p>The post Nigeria Air Force who died in the crashed NAF Alpha-jet that crashed in Borno state laid to rest (photos) first appeared on Lifestyle Nigeria.</p>
Phyna Bbnaija; Biography, Net Worth, Date Of Birth, Age, State Of Origin & Career – Lifestyle Nigeria
Real Name: Ijeoma Josephina
Stage Name: Phyna Bbnaija
Date Of Birth: 1997
Age: 25 years old
Profession: Actress
Nationality: Nigerian
State Of Origin: Edo State
Net Worth: $15K dollars
Details About Phyna Bbnaija
Phyna is currently 25 years old and she was born in the Nigerian state of Edo. Ijeoma Josephina is the correct spelling of her given name. She recounted herself as being the one who bring the ginger and the vibes to Biggie’s residence.
READ ALSO: BBNaija S7: Tega Makes U-turn About Phyna’s Loud Behaviour, Issues PSA
Phyna Bbnaija Date Of Birth
Phyna Bbnaija was born in the year 1997 in the Nigerian state of Edo. As of the time that this article about Phyna’s BBnaija biography and net worth was written, she had not yet reached her 25th birthday.
What is the net worth of Phyna Bbnaija?
At the time of writing, phyna bbnaija’s net worth was calculated at $15,000.
Conclusion:
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