Supreme Court Dismisses Order Barring SDP’s Ajaka From Inspecting Election Materials

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the order of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja which granted the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the November 2023 election in Kogi permission to inspect election materials.

Recall that the apex court had stayed the execution of the orders of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, setting aside the inspection order.

The Tribunal in November last year granted an ex parte order, allowing the SDP and its governorship candidate in Kogi for the 2023 election, Murtala Ajaka to carry out a forensic examination of all the Bimodal Voters Accreditation system, BVAS, used in the election, among other reliefs.

But a three-man panel of justices of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice J.O.K. Oyewole, in its ruling, on March 1, 2024, set aside the inspection order.

However, the apex court on Thursday dismissed the decision of the Court of Appeal and upheld the decision of the trial court.

In a unanimous decision read by Justice Emmanuel Akomoye Agim, the Supreme Court held that the order of the trial court was within the scope of section 146 of the Electoral Act.

“Our position is that the motion seeking to set aside the Court of Appeal was wrong to have reversed the decision of the trial court that the motion seeking to set aside the decision of the trial Tribunal was incompetent.

“We do not agree with the Court of Appeal. The motion was filed out of time. Secondly, the order of the trial court was within the scope of section 146 of the Electoral Act. In light of the foregoing, this appeal is allowed, and the cross-appeal dismissed with no costs,” the court held.

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