By Abiola Olawale
The Supreme Court has affirmed the victory of Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State in the November 11, 2023 governorship election.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a ruling delivered on Friday, struck out the argument of the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party(SDP), Muritala Ajaka.
The judges held that the appeal marked SC/CV/654/2024 was without merit and proceeded to dismiss it.
Justice Sadiq Umar, who delivered the judgement, also held that Ajaka failed to prove the allegations contained in their appeal beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
Ajaka had approached the apex court to challenge the judgment of the appeal court and the tribunal on the outcome of the 2023 governorship election in Kogi State.
It would be recalled that Ajaka had appealed the judgment of a three-member tribunal that affirmed the election of Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as governor of Kogi.
While delivering judgment, the appeal court upheld the tribunal judgment which dismissed his petition for lacking in merit.
Also, the tribunal on May 27, 2024, affirmed the victory of Governor Ododo.
The three-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, held that the petition was bereft of substance and accordingly dismissed it.
The tribunal held that SDP and Ajaka failed to prove the allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 in the petition.
The panel, in a unanimous decision, held that all the witness evidence filed before it was incompetent and full of inconsistencies.
