Appeal Court Retains Ogun PDP’s Response to Abiodun, APC, Vote-Buying Allegation

The appeal related to the vote-buying decision made by the Ogun State Governorship Tribunal on June 19 regarding the governorship election on March 18.

The vote-buying accusations against Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) levelled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, have been reinstated by the Court of Appeal Abuja.

Adebutu and the PDP filed an appeal on July 6, and the matter was considered by the appellate court on August 3.

The appeal was made in response to Justice Hamidu Kanuza’s June 19 ruling of the Ogun State Governorship Tribunal regarding vote-buying in the state’s March 18 governorship election.

The panel had found in Abiodun’s favour and dismissed Adebutu’s response to Abiodun’s petition.

Adebutu and PDP’s response to Abiodun’s reply to the petition’s paragraphs 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, and 18 were upheld by the court in a decision authored by Justice Mohammed Idris and read aloud by Justice Aliyu Waziri.

The petitioners’ response includes several lengthy paragraphs that address the claims of vote-buying, violence committed by Dapo Abiodun’s agents, and the filing of a fake certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by Abiodun.

Additionally, Adebutu’s response to Abiodun’s accusation of vote-buying made in his response to the petition is included in the sustained paragraphs.

Gordy Uche, the petitioners’ attorney, contended before the tribunal that the petitioners did not raise any new facts in their reply but rather responded to the second respondent’s new problem, which was not one of the points raised in the petition.

On the grounds that they are not permitted to raise new facts in their response to the second respondent’s reply, Abiodun filed a motion asking the tribunal to strike out Adebutu’s reply to their reply to the petition.