The Oyo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Ibadan on Tuesday upheld the victory of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and dismissed the petition of Senator Rashidi Ladoja of Accord Party.
Ladoja had filed a petition challenging the declaration of Ajimobi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election of April 11 in Oyo State.
Delivering the judgement, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Muhammed Mayaki, said that the result of an election in law is presumed to be in order until proved otherwise.
Mayaki said that it lies on the petitioner to prove to the tribunal that the election did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and this must done beyond reasonable doubt.
He said that the lead witness of the petitioner, Mr Bimbo Adepoju, who led the inspection of the electoral materials, was a farmer and not an expert.
Mayaki said that an expert witness was very necessary in an election petition case and the tribunal could not rely on the evidence of a witness who was not an expert.
He said that the inspection of voter cards, voter registers, ballot papers and other electoral documents should have been carried out by an expert for it to be relied on by the tribunal.
The chairman also said that the documents tendered before the court by the petitioner were not linked to the evidence of the witness and therefore regarded as merely dumped before the tribunal.
He said that the petitioner had failed to prove the allegation of corruption, malpractices, irregularities and manipulation levelled against the respondent.
Mayaki, therefore, dismissed the petition and upheld the declaration of Ajimobi as the winner of the April 11 governorship election in Oyo State.
Also joined in the petition were APC, INEC and its Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Rufus Akeju.
Ladoja, had through this counsel, Richard Ogunwole (SAN), informed the court that the election was marred by corruption, manipulation, irregularities and malpractices.
Ogunwole urged the tribunal to nullify Ajimobi’s election and declare his client as the winner of the election or order a rerun.
Reacting to the judgement, Ogunwole said that he was not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, adding that his client would appeal it.
On his part, Olalekan Ojo, one of the counsel to Ajimobi, said the tribunal had done an excellent job, adding that he was satisfied with the judgement.
Immediately after the tribunal verdict, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Micheal Adeyemo, and Majority Leader, Kehinde Subaru, led other lawmakers on a congratulatory visit to the governor at the Governor’s Office, Agodi, Ibadan.
Before the judgement, there was heavy security presence in Ibadan.
Several personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Department of State Security (DSS), Nigerian Army and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were stationed at strategic points around the metropolis.
Security men were stationed at strategic junctions in the Oyo State capital, including Mokola, Dugbe, Iyaganku, Oke-Ado, Challenge, Bere and Oje.
At the court premises, security was also tight as party faithful besieged the area.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Leye Oyebade, led the operations in conjunction with Mr J.O Adewoye, the State NSCDC Commandant.
Speaking with newsmen, Oyebade assured residents of adequate security, adding that all the necessary security arrangements had been put in place.
“We allowed into the courtroom only 30 journalists, eight members each from both Accord Party and APC and likewise six members from all other political parties.
“The arrangement is to prevent rowdiness and overcrowding in the court room where the tribunal is sitting,’’ he said.
Many newsmen were barred from entering the court premises due to inadequate space to accommodate them all.
Party loyalists were also restricted to a distance of about 200 metres from the court premises.
