Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, have requested the Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by the Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, due to a lack of evidence to substantiate his claims.
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In their 43-page final written address filed on July 22, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat urged the three-member tribunal to also take note of the petitioner’s lack of seriousness in the case, as he neither submitted a witness statement nor appeared personally to support his arguments.
In response to Rhodes-Vivour’s petition, the APC also submitted that no evidence had been presented to the Justice Arum Ashom panel to suggest that the votes for Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu were unlawful or that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with relevant laws.
During the March 18 governorship elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat as winners after they secured 762,134 lawful votes, the majority of votes cast across all polling units, wards, and local governments in Lagos state. This also satisfied the constitutional geographical spread requirement.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the petitioner, secured 312,329 votes, placing second in the polls, which was less than half the votes of the declared winners and around 27 percent of the total valid votes at the elections.
The petitioner approached the court on April 9, challenging the election outcome based on alleged “sundry trumped-up grounds,” including alleged non-qualification and claims of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The respondents presented facts to the Tribunal, stating, “The petitioner called nine witnesses in relation to the non-compliance ground, spanning 20 local governments and over 13,000 polling units in Lagos, along with one subpoenaed pseudo-expert witness for the non-qualification ground. In total, the petitioner called only one polling unit agent who was compelled to provide evidence through a subpoena.”
Through their legal representatives including Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Adesegun Ajibola (SAN), Muiz Banire (SAN), Bode Olanipekun (SAN), Said Sanusi (SAN), and seven others, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat presented one main issue for the Tribunal’s consideration:
“Considering the evidence presented during the trial of this petition in relation to constitutional and statutory provisions regarding the assumption and occupation of the office of the Governor of Lagos State, does this petition offer valid justification to alter or overturn the result declared by INEC for the election of the office of the Governor of Lagos State held on 18th March 2023?”
They argued that “since the reliefs sought in an election petition are declaratory in nature, the quality and quantity of evidence must be compelling enough to displace the presumption of regularity, as declaratory reliefs cannot be granted solely on the strength of the adversary’s admission. Admission doesn’t excuse the petitioner from the significant burden of proof.”
Rhodes-Vivour’s petition sought to nullify Sanwo-Olu’s return and declare him the winner of the election due to his position as the candidate with the second-highest number of lawful votes. Sanwo-Olu and his deputy’s final written address to the Tribunal emphasized that none of the ten witnesses called by the petitioner requested this relief or any other reliefs proposed by Rhodes-Vivour, indicating “the abandonment of the reliefs.”
Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat further highlighted the petitioner’s lack of a witness statement or written deposition and his absence from testifying before the Tribunal. They pointed out that the petitioner had not demonstrated a genuine commitment to the petition and questioned his party’s support for the case.
In conclusion, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat underscored the petitioner’s failure to provide evidence to support his extensive petition. Given that the Tribunal cannot extract evidence or engage in self-investigation, they concluded that the appropriate course of action is to issue an order of dismissal.
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