The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria has upheld Ahmed Usman Ododo as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State, dismissing the appeal filed by Murtala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) challenging Ododo’s election victory.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel of justices, the court ruled that Ajaka and the SDP failed to substantiate their claims against Ododo’s election beyond reasonable doubt, as required by law. The justices affirmed the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which previously upheld Ododo’s victory in the November 11, 2023 gubernatorial poll.
The appellate court agreed with the tribunal’s decision to expunge hearsay documents presented by the petitioners and noted that allegations of document forgery should be handled as a pre-election matter by the Federal High Court, not by the election tribunal.
“The court resolved all issues raised in the appeal against the appellants and dismissed it for lacking merit,” the judgment read.
Following the tribunal’s affirmation of Ododo’s victory in May, Ajaka and the SDP had sought the Court of Appeal to overturn the tribunal’s decision, reinstate their first witness’s testimony, and admit all expunged documents.
However, the appeal was unsuccessful as the court upheld the tribunal’s judgment, asserting that Ododo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) were duly elected in the Kogi State governorship election.
