Kogi Governorship: Tribunal refuses to sack Ododo, throws out Ajaka’s case

The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, affirmed the election of Governor Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2023, governorship poll.

The three-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, ruled that the petition filed against Ododo’s election lacked substance and was therefore dismissed.

The tribunal determined that the petitioners—the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka—failed to substantiate the allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022.

In a unanimous decision, the panel found that all witness evidence presented by the petitioners was incompetent and rife with inconsistencies.

Additionally, the tribunal agreed with the respondents that the allegations of forgery raised in the petition were pre-election matters, which should have been addressed within 14 days of submitting the documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kogi held its off-cycle election on November 11, 2023, in which Ododo of the APC emerged victorious, defeating his closest rival, Ajaka of the SDP, by a wide margin.

Dissatisfied with the election outcome, Ajaka filed a petition before the tribunal challenging Ododo’s victory. The case, which began in December 2023, reached a critical juncture on May 13 when the SDP, Ajaka, APC, Ododo, and INEC presented their final written addresses. The tribunal then reserved its judgment.

INEC, Ododo, and the APC, represented by their lawyers—Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, Joseph Daudu, SAN, and Emmanuel Ukala, SAN—had urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition for being incompetent and lacking merit.

Conversely, Ajaka’s lawyer, Pius Akubo, SAN, had called on the tribunal to disregard the respondents’ submissions and uphold the petition.