The Supreme Court has upheld the reelection of Governor Yahaya Bello in the last governorship election held in Kogi State.
The apex court made declaration in a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday by a seven-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Musa Wada and his party against the reelection of Bello as governor.
The apex court in a unanimous judgment dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.
It upheld the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the majority judgment of the Kogi Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The lead judgment read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, held that the appellants were unable to prove allegations of electoral malpractices in the November 16 governorship election.
The apex court held that failure of the appellants to call polling units agents was fatal to their case.
It added that the appellants merely dumped documents that could not be attached probate value.
Justice John Okoro authored the lead judgment, which was read by Justice Uwani Abba Aji, in which the court held among others, that the appeal was without merit.
The court upheld the concurrent decisions of the trial tribunal and the Court of Appeal that.
The Tribunal and Appeal Court backed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which returned Bello as the winner of the election held November 16, 2019.
The Supreme Court is currently delivering its judgment in the appeal by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Natasha Akpoti, in the election held last year.
