Court excuses Sen Adeyemi's case against Ododo, APC on Kogi guber
The Federal High Court in Abuja has excused a suit founded by a Kogi governorship aspirant on the foundation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Smart Afolabi Adeyemi, against the emergence of the competitor of the party, Usman Ododo, at the last primary election of the party. The Court on Wednesday held that the suit needed legitimacy and substance to warrant conceding demands made against Ododo and APC. Conveying judgment in the suit stamped "FHC/CS/556/2023 in Smart Adeyemi v. APC and 2 Ors", Justice James Kolawole Omotosho held that Adeyemi's claims were criminal, as he affirmed that elections didn't hold and that the created results were forged. He said the candidate needed to demonstrate the charges of imitation and distortion of results beyond a reasonable doubt. The court noticed that the weight lays on Senator Adeyemi to deliver the forged result or the original results to discharge the burden, adding that failure to discharge the burden "is lethal to the situation of the candidate. Justice Omotosho additionally held that the claim that the election didn't hold was likewise not validated as the candidate just gave proof from his Ward in Ijumu LGA. He said, regardless, this proof was denied by the Respondents, who joined the monitoring reports of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which has the obligation to monitor the election. "For this situation, INEC attached its monitoring report and furthermore attached duplicates of the outcome, police report affirming the conduct of the election signed by the Commissioner of Police, the case of the Applicant has no basis,” he said. Justice Omotosho, consequently, excused the case for lacking in merit. Concluding, he said, "In the final analysis , having evaluated all the proof in this, I have no doubt about the APC Primary election result held in all the wards of Kogi State on the 14th day of April 2023 and I so hold. "This Respectable Court won't permit the desire of a couple of persons like that of the applicant to supersede the desire of the larger part. The Candidate's case has no legitimacy. It is thusly excused."
What's Your Reaction?
