The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court has dismissed a suit filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi seeking to nullify the governorship primary election victory of Ahmed Usman Ododo as the flagbearer of the the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State for the November 11 poll.
While dismissing the suit, the appellate court which deliberated on the matter on Friday, held that the appeal was “completely bereft of merit.”
In the unanimous judgement of a three-man panel of judges led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaib, the court ruled that Adeyemi, a former lawmaker who represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate, failed to establish all the allegations made against the conduct of the primary election by the APC.
The court also held that allegations of manipulations and falsifications of the primary election results made by Adeyemi, ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
The panel also dismissed another allegation by the appellant that he was denied a fair hearing by the appeals committee of the party based on his petition against the alleged unlawful conduct of the primary election.
“The issue of denial of a fair hearing was not raised in the originating summons at the Federal High Court, hence, cannot be raised as a fresh issue at the Court of Appeal,” Justice Shuaib said.
He added that in the absence of cogent and verifiable evidence on the part of Adeyemi, the Court of Appeal held that his allegations remained mere assertions that could not enjoy any probative value, and proceeded to dismiss the appeal for want of merit.