A special panel of the Court of Appeal convened in Abuja on Wednesday has upheld the ruling of the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, affirming its decision to strike down all allegations of vote-buying and voter inducement leveled by the Ogun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Ladi Adebutu, against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the APC.
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Delivering the lead judgment, Justice MB Idris supported the tribunal’s decision and further upheld the validity of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s defense.
In the events leading up to this decision, Adebutu and PDP had filed a response to Governor Abiodun’s defense on May 22, 2023, in which they, for the first time, accused Governor Abiodun and APC of vote-buying during the March 18, 2023 Ogun State gubernatorial elections.
Governor Abiodun’s legal team swiftly requested the tribunal to either entirely dismiss the response or strike out specific contentious paragraphs. The basis for this request was that Adebutu and PDP’s response contravened the relevant sections of the Electoral Act and the rules of court pleadings.
The tribunal supported Governor Abiodun’s legal stance and struck out the entirety of Adebutu and PDP’s response.
The panel further acknowledged that Adebutu and PDP’s vote-buying allegations were a belated afterthought, hastily assembled in response to serious allegations of their own electoral misconduct brought forward by Governor Abiodun, which were substantiated by a police investigation report.
This tumultuous development saw the PDP and Oladipupo Adebutu hastily leaving the country, while other Ogun State party leaders faced trial in court.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal confirmed the incompetence of the allegations made in Adebutu’s response, leading to the removal of certain paragraphs from the response. The Court also dismissed the entire appeal lodged by Adebutu and PDP against the Ogun State Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal’s decision that upheld the validity of Governor Abiodun’s defense.
Governor Abiodun’s defense had initially alleged electoral fraud by the PDP and its candidate, Ladi Adebutu, which prompted the counter-allegations of vote-buying (now nullified).
The Tribunal upheld Governor Abiodun’s right to raise such allegations, which the Court of Appeal has unanimously supported, deeming Adebutu’s appeal meritless and dismissing it entirely.
This sequence of decisions has eliminated the afterthought vote-buying claims made by the PDP and rendered their evidentiary submissions ineffective. The Court of Appeal’s ruling has reinforced the notion of incompetent allegations made by the PDP, effectively bringing this contentious issue to a legal conclusion.
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