INEC appeals Osun Tribunal judgement, lists 44 grounds

THE Independent National Electoral Commission has appealed the judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal that nullified the victory of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in the July 16 governorship poll.

The commission stated 44 grounds of appeal and pleaded with the court to overturn the tribunal’s ruling in the Notice of Appeal dated January 30, 2023, which was obtained today in Osogbo.

Adegboyega Oyetola, the party’s candidate in the election, and the All Progressives Congress filed a petition, which the appellant argued lacked substance and should be dismissed by the court.

In its ruling from January 27, 2023, a Tribunal panel chaired by Justice Tertsea Kume had ruled Oyetola to be the duly elected governor at the election and nullified Adeleke’s victory.

The tribunal determined that there was overvoting in 744 polling centers and subtracted the extra votes from Adeleke and Oyetola’s total vote count.

However, Justice A. Ogbuli, a different panelist, denied the APC’s plea and maintained Adeleke’s election victory in a minority decision.

Also in the Notice of Appeal signed by counsel to INEC, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN) and 17 others, the Commission challenged the decision of the Tribunal on the grounds that the panel erred in law by claiming that Adeleke did not score the majority of the lawful votes, saying the petitioners only called two witnesses who did not prove that the PDP candidate did not win the election.

According to the INEC, the Tribunal erred in law by using a table contained in the final written address of the petitioners to determine overvoting and deducted votes scored by the respondent.

The electoral body also rejected the Tribunal’s argument because it issued different accreditation reports and that its actions amounted to document manipulation

It also said the allegation that it tampered with the official records was a criminal allegation that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, noting that there was no proof it tampered with any records before the panel.