The Court of Appeal in Lagos has dismissed an appeal filed by the Labour Party challenging the judgment of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which affirmed the election of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the Governor of Lagos State.
Justice Hannatu Sankey, who read the lead judgement of the five-man panel, specifically affirmed the decisions reached by the tribunal.
According to the Court, the appellant (Labour Party) failed to produce any oral or documentary evidence through witnesses and other channels to establish the fact that Governor Sanwo-Olu was not qualified to contest the election and did not win the governorship election.
The Court further ruled that the petitioner went on a “Columbian Journey of making assertions with nothing to back it up,” and thereby dismissed the appeal in its entirety.
Labour Party and its governorship candidate, Mr Ifagbemi Awamaridi, had appealed the judgment of Election Petition Tribunal delivered on September 23, insisting that Governor Sanwo-Olu was not qualified to contest the election held in March and that the governor did not win the election.
Respondents were the Independent National Electoral Commission, Sanwo-Olu, All Progressives Congress, INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner, the Returning Officer for the Lagos State Governorship Election, the State’s Commissioner of Police and the Nigerian Army.
Similarly, the Appeal Court also dismissed an appeal filed by Alliance for Democracy and its governorship candidate, Owolabi Salis to challenge Governor Sanwo-Olu’s electoral victory.
In a unanimous decision, Justice Ayobode Shodipe, who read the lead judgement, held that the appeal of AD lacked merit and was “Dead On Arrival.”
The Appellate Court ordered that a cost of two hundred thousand naira should be awarded against the appellants in favour of each six of the seven respondents, except the Commissioner of Police, in both appeals.
