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Osun Election Tribunal Panel Erred In Law, Verdict Against Constitution - INEC
THE Independent Naonal Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the governorship elec on pe on tribunal on the July 16, 2022 gubernatorial elec on in the State of Osun erred in law on its majority judgment.
According to INEC, the tribunal judgement which sacked Governor Ademola Adeleke and returned former governor Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner of the elec on, is a miscarriage of jus ce.
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INEC, in a No ce of Appeal dated January 30, 2023 and filed before the Appeal Court in Akure, urged the appellate court to set aside the verdict of the tribunal and uphold the elec on result declared by it.
The electoral commission listed 44 grounds of appeal, among which is that the tribunal erred in law by claiming that Adeleke did not score majority of the lawful votes.
INEC noted in the appeal that the pe oners (the All Progressives Congress and Oyetola) only called two witnesses who did not prove that Adeleke did not win the elec on.
Also, INEC asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgement of the tribunal, no ng that Sec on 294(2) of the 1999 Constu on (as amended) makes it mandatory for all judges that sat in the hearing of a ma er or elec on pe on to not only express their individual opinion in writing but also at the me of judgement make pronouncement on same by herself or another panel member.
INEC noted that Chief Magistrate Rabi Bashir who was the second member of the tribunal failed to either express her individual opinion in wri ng at the me of the judgement nor make any pronouncement in support of Chairman of the panel, Jus ce Tertsea Kume, who read the majority judgment on Friday, 27, 2023. The commission also asked the appellate court to dismiss the pe on filed by APC and Oyetola for lacking in merit.
In the No ce of Appeal signed by counsel to INEC, Prof. Paul Anababa (SAN) and 17 others, the commission challenged the decision of the Tribunal on the grounds that the tribunal erred in law by using a table contained in the final written address of the pe oners to determine overvo ng and deducted votes scored by the respondent.
