The Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abeokuta, on Saturday affirmed the victory of Prince Dapo Abiodun, as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the State.
The three-man panel, in the judgement read for over 11 hours, dismissed the petition filed by the candidate of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu for ‘lack of merit’.
The tribunal headed by Hamidu Kunaza submitted that the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, then struck out and dismissed the petition.
The court also held that Abiodun was qualified to stand as the candidate of his party and his subsequent announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the election.
Security operatives were deployed at strategic points in and around the courtroom to prevent any breakdown of law and order.
Counsels to the petitioner and the respondents were present in the courtroom which was filled to capacity.
Also in attendance were representatives of the two contending political parties, including the Deputy Governor of the state, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, and the PDP deputy governorship candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, and members of the National Assembly.
Around 9:10 am, the three-man panel began taking turns to read the judgment.
At the end of their submission, the court struck out the allegation of corrupt practices and non-compliance for being disjointed, defective and incompetent. It also struck out vote-buying allegations against the APC and its candidate.
He also described the testimonies of the witnesses brought by the petitioners as “industrially manufactured, mechanically produced and adopted” by them, thereby “proven to similar, too coincidental and unbelievable.”
On the allegation of certificate forgery levelled against Abiodun, the Tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove the criminal allegation beyond reasonable doubt by providing a witness from the United States of America (USA) to testify that the second defendant (Abiodun).
In striking out the allegation of vote buying and corrupt practices, the tribunal held that the allegations were two inseparable twins for which the petitioner has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also held that the allegation of certificate forgery and arrest and detention of Abiodun in 1986 were pre-election matters which ought to have been determined 14 days before the election.