Election Tribunal rules on Ambode’s objection today

The Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Ikeja has slated today to decide whether or not to hear the preliminary objection filed by the state Governor,  Akinwunmi Ambode against the petition filed by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate, Jimi Agbaje in the April 28 election.

The PDP candidate, is praying the tribunal to declare him the winner of the April poll, while challenging the declaration of Akinwunmi Ambode by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as the winner of the election.

When the matter came up yesterday, the tribunal stated it would take all preliminary objections alongside with the petitions.

The tribunal presided by  Justice Mohammed Ibrahim Sirajo however subjected the issues to argument asking parties in the matter to make their submissions.

Vanguard

On the election petitions tribunals – Eze Onyekpere

The 2015 elections are over and we are in the season of election dispute adjudication. Election disputes are not just civil claims ventilating the rights of private individuals, they are claims and questions of wider significance to the integrity of our constitutional democracy and the political stability of Nigeria.

They also border on the collective interest of the society to be governed by a democratic government founded on the will of the people expressed in periodic and genuine elections. Although free and fair elections are best guaranteed by the conduct of the election management body, security agencies, other government agencies, political parties, candidates and the larger civil society, the courts have become the last resort once disputes arise in the electoral process. Therefore, the challenge is to use law as an instrument of social engineering to resolve democratic conflicts in the overall interest of the society.

In the adjudication of election disputes, courts are called upon to play a fundamental role to strengthen the pillars of democracy. It is not only about justice to the litigants but justice to the whole society and the respective constituencies that voted in the elections.

It is justice as to whether the votes count or the votes of constituencies are replaced by usurpers who assume office against the wish of the people. If those who actually won elections are returned through the courts, good governance will likely ensue while impostors who did not win the popular votes but find themselves in positions of power will likely subvert processes and create an atmosphere of impunity to cover their tracks.

As a popular aphorism says, a people cannot rise above the quality of their government. Thus, justice as conceptualised here is not about technical statements of the law but whether justice has been seen to be done by those who stayed under the sun and the rain to cast their vote.

The average Nigerian has lost hope in the ability of government (executive and legislature) to protect his rights and the judiciary is glorified as the last hope of the common person. The poser after the conclusion of the work of the tribunals and the appeals will be; Did the judiciary through the tribunals live up to this expectation? What was the public perception on the adjudication of the cases?

Thus, a case is made for sound electoral reform which should allow the electorate the final say on who represents them instead of what has been termed democracy by court order.

Bayelsa State Election Petition Tribunal begins sitting: Sylva v. Ben Murray-Bruce

The Bayelsa State Elections Petition Tribunal has begun sitting in the state.

The tribunal on Wednesday began a pre-trial hearing into the petition filed by a former Bayelsa Governor, Timipre Sylva, against the declaration of entertainment mogul, Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce as Senator-elect for the Bayelsa East senatorial District.

Sylva, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the district in the April National Assembly election, had approached the tribunal headed by Justice Ononoeze Madu, asking the court to declare Senator Murray-Bruce unqualified to contest the April 8 National Assembly election.

He had hinged his argument on the Senator’s dual citizenship and his refusal to relinquish such before the election.

The Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN) issue

Culled from Punch:

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee on May 21, 2015 revoked the practising licence of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Kunle Kalejaiye, thereby barring him from practising as a lawyer anywhere in the country.

Kalejaiye, who was the counsel for Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola when the Okuku-born prince was dragged to the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, by the then governorship candidate of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, was found guilty of unethical practice by the committee and without hesitation, the LPDC descended heavily on the lawyer.

 True to the axiom that there are neither permanent friends nor permanent foes in politics but permanent interests, Aregbesola and Oyinlola have since come together on the same political platform, the All Progressives Congress, but the issues raised during the struggle for power between them are still raising dust long after the litigants had ceased fire.

The ACN had petitioned the Nigeria Bar Association while the tribunal was still on, alleging that Kalejaiye engaged in a “private and confidential telephone conversation” with the Chairman of the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, Justice Thomas Naron, without the knowledge of the other parties in the case.

Naron, whose panel heard the petition filed against Oyinlola following the April 14, 2007 governorship poll in Osun State, had been retired compulsorily as a judge since February 20, 2013 by the National Judicial Council. So, some people are of the opinion that the LPDC direction, which also sacked Kalejaiye about 26 months after Naron was punished, is deserving.

Naron was accused of being in communication with Kalejaiye, who was the lead counsel for Oyinlola. The Naron-led panel subsequently dismissed Aregbesola’s petition and held that Oyinlola was the lawfully elected governor of the state. However, Oyinlola was eventually sacked by the Court of Appeal in Ibadan on November 26, 2010 and the ACN candidate was declared the validly elected governor of Osun State.

In the News…Supreme Court dismisses Omisore’s suit against Aregbesola’s re-election

The Supreme Court on today dismissed an appeal filed by Senator Iyiola Omisore, challenging the Court of Appeal’s judgment, which affirmed Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s election victory in Osun.

Omisore, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the election held on August 9, 2014, had challenged Aregbesola’s victory at the Election Petition Tribunal, and lost.

He appealed against the tribunal’s judgement at the Appeal Court but lost again as the court upheld the tribunal verdict.

Not satisfied, Omisore approach the Supreme Court to set aside the Appeal Court’s judgement, claiming that there was miscarriage of justice in the process.

But the apex court’s panel of seven justices, in its judgement read by Justice Centus Nweze, held that Omisore’s appeal was devoid of merit and dismissed it entirely.

The court in the unanimous judgment also upheld the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, and the Osun Election Petition Tribunal, which had earlier affirmed Aregbesola’s election.

“The concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Election Petition Tribunal are, hereby, affirmed.

“There being no merit in the appeal, it is hereby ordered that the main appeal and cross-appeal are dismissed entirely and parties are to bear their own costs,’’ Nweze ordered.

In the News…Jimi Agbaje gets tribunal’s permission to inspect poll materials

The Lagos State election petitions tribunal has granted leave to the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, to inspect all polling documents and devices used for the April 11 election in the state.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Sylvanus Oriji, granted the prayer of the petitioner while ruling on an application filed by Agbaje through his counsel, Clement Onwuenmonor.

Justice Oriji also ordered the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide certified true copies of all polling documents including printed data from card readers in each polling‎ units in the state.

The two orders were given out of five prayers filed by the petitioner‎ before the tribunal.

The tribunal had earlier ‎taken the submissions of Agbaje’s counsel and that of the All Progressive Congress, Ademola Sadiq.‎

In the News…Oyo State Election Petitions Tribunal gets 12 petitions.

The Oyo State Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday said it has received 12 petitions – 10 House of Representatives and two senatorial The Nation reports