Appeal Court postpones date of judgement for Onjeh and Moro suit

Daniel Onjeh, who was a contender for the senatorial seat representing Benue South for the All Progressives Congress in 2023, filed an appeal with the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal disputing the election of Senator Abba Moro, who represented the Peoples Democratic Party.

The verdict on that appeal has been postponed.

The court had originally scheduled the delivering of the verdict for this Monday (which is today).

On Sunday, the postponement was notified to the legal counsels of the parties engaged in the case by the three-person panel of the Court of Appeal, which consisted of Justices A. O. Otisi, O. Obaseki, and A. M. Lamido. The announcement was made by an official message.

On October 16, the Appeal Court heard the appeal that was filed by Onjeh. After the hearing, all of the parties’ briefs of argument were adopted, and the court reserved its decision on the subject.

Comrade Onjeh has filed a petition with the Court of Appeal requesting that it overturn the decision made by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal. That decision had previously validated Senator Moro’s victory in the elections that took place on February 25.

The APC candidate had urged the appeal court to declare him the winner of the poll, despite the fact that he was dissatisfied with the verdict that had been handed down by the tribunal. He insisted that Senator Moro was not entitled to compete in the election because he had reportedly presented a falsified birth certificate to INEC.

In addition to other irregularities, Onjeh is contesting the outcome of the election on the grounds that there was a violation of the Electoral Act 2022 (As Amended), which is one of the reasons for his challenge.