Appeal Court strikes out Adebutu’s vote-buying case against Gov Abiodun

A Court of Appeal special panel in Abuja on Wednesday struck out allegations of vote-buying and voter inducement made by the Peoples Democratic Party, Ogun State, and its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the All Progressives Congress.
It affirmed the decision of the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which earlier gave the same verdict.
Justice MB Idris, giving the judgment on Wednesday, also upheld another decision of the tribunal which confirmed the validity of the defence filed by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
On May 22, 2023, Adebutu and the PDP had filed a reply to the defence by Governor Abiodun.
In the said reply, Adebutu and the PDP had alleged, for the first time, that Governor Abiodun and the APC bought votes in the March 18 2023 Ogun State gubernatorial elections.
When Governor Abiodun received Adebutu’s reply, the governor’s lawyers filed an application asking the Tribunal to strike out the reply in its entirety or in the alternative, to strike out offending paragraphs from that reply.
The governor’s lawyers argued that the reply filed by Adebutu and PDP contravened Paragraph 16(1)(a & b) of the Schedule to the Electoral Act and the rules of court pleadings.
The tribunal agreed with the governor’s lawyers and struck out the entire reply filed by Adebutu and the PDP.

It was established before the panel that the allegation made by Adebutu and the PDP was an afterthought which was hastily put together after Governor Abiodun made weighty allegations backed up with police investigation report establishing that Adebutu and PDP bought votes during the elections in his defence.