Appeal court dismisses Smart Adeyemi’s appeal seeking nullification of Ododo’s candidacy

The All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in Kogi State, which produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the November 11 ballot, was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday, despite an appeal filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi to have the results nullified.

Adekunle Oladapo Otitoju, representing Senator Adeyemi, had his appeal totally rejected because the court found it to be without substance.

Adeyemi, who had been representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate, was found to have failed to establish all accusations made against the conduct of the primary election by APC and its leaders in a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel of justices.

All three of the contested claims against Adeyemi were ruled on by the lead judgment’s author, Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaib.

Shuaib said that, as criminal allegations, Adeyemi’s claims that the primary election results were manipulated and falsified should have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

He also ruled against the appellant’s claim that he was not given due process by the APC’s Appeal Committee when he filed a petition challenging the primary election’s purportedly illegal procedures.

His argument before the Court of Appeal was that he could not bring up the issue of a lack of due process because it was not brought up in his originating summons before the Federal High Court.

The Court of Appeal determined that Adeyemi’s claims remained unproven in the absence of credible and independently corroborated evidence.

The appeal was therefore thrown out by Justice Shuaib because it was without substance.

Adeyemi’s claims that Ododo was not properly nominated by the APC were rejected by the Court of Appeal, which confirmed Justice James Omotosho’s July 12 ruling from the Federal High Court in Abuja.