Kogi guber dispute: Supreme Court rejects Ajaka’s request for full panel

The Supreme Court has rejected an application by Yakubu Muritala Ajaka, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the last governorship election in Kogi State, asking the court to await the outcome of his request for a full panel to hear an issue raised in his appeal.

Ajaka and his party have filed an appeal marked SC/CV/654/2024, urging the Supreme Court to set aside the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the election tribunal, which upheld the victory of Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election held on November 11, 2023.

At the mention of the appeal on Monday, Pius Akubo, the lawyer for Ododo and the SDP, informed the court that his client had written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) requesting the constitution of a full panel of the court to hear issues raised in Paragraphs 4.28 and 4.29 on page 16 of the appellant’s brief of argument.

Akubo argued that the appellants, in those paragraphs, were requesting the court to depart from its previous decisions in determining their appeal.

Lawyers for the respondents—Kanu Agabi (SAN) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joseph Daudu (SAN) for Ododo, and Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) for the APC—described the application as unnecessary and urged the court, as currently constituted, to proceed with hearing the appeal.

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In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, who presided over the five-member panel, noted that the issue for which the appellants sought a full panel was a fraction of the entire appeal. Justice Garba further noted that the issue was one of three raised in the appeal. He held that the court, as presently constituted, could hear and determine the appeal and instructed Akubo to proceed with the hearing.

Akubo identified and adopted his briefs, urging the court to allow the appeal, set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, and declare Ajaka as the duly elected governor of Kogi State.

On their part, Agabi, Daudu, and Ukala adopted their briefs and prayed the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Garba subsequently adjourned judgment to a date to be communicated to the parties.