Published 9th May, 2023

The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the election of Ademola Adeleke as Governor of Osun State.

A five-member panel led by Justice Emmanuel Agim upheld the decision of the Appeal Court, and adjudged Adeleke to have been duly elected on July 16, 2022.

Earlier, Adegboyega Oyetola approached the Osun State election petition tribunal to allege the voting process was marred with over-voting. The tribunal upheld this argument and sacked Adeleke.

Adeleke appealed the decision, and a three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Mohammed Shuaibu, unanimously overturned the tribunal.

On Tuesday, the apex court upheld the decision of the appellate court. FIJ looks at four arguments the court considered to uphold Adeleke’s victory.

OVER-VOTING

The court considered the argument of over-voting made by Oyetola at the tribunal and the Appeal Court.

It ruled that Oyetola could not establish that there was over-voting during the election, as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was the basis for determining that.

QUALIFICATION

Oyetola argued against the qualification of Adeleke to contest the election. He alleged that there was certificate forgery and grounds for disqualification.

The Supreme Court held that Adeleke’s qualification was settled, and there were no established cases of forgery against him.

HEARSAY EVIDENCE

The court ruled that a witness brought forward by Oyetola relied on hearsay.

It said the appellants could not fully prove their case against Adeleke’s victory with just hearsay evidence.

TRIBUNAL BREACHED ADELEKE’S RIGHTS

The court said that the tribunal did not give Adeleke fair hearing, thereby trampling on his right.

It faulted the tribunal’s verdict, and the manner in which it was arrived at.

Adeleke will now continue to steer the affairs of the state as the ruling puts to bed any more arguments over his victory.

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