INEC drags Adeleke, Oyetola to court over Osun tribunal ruling

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has contested the verdict of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which deposed Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Governor of Osun State only two months after he took office.

The commission filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, Akure Judicial Division, on Wednesday, citing 44 errors in the judgement.

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In addition to other concerns, INEC claimed that the tribunal’s judgement was invalid. The commission contended that each tribunal member was required to submit a written statement detailing their position at the point of judgement but the statement of Rabir Bashir, a chief magistrate and Tribunal Member 2, was not presented on the designated day for the delivery of judgement.

The appeal read in part, “The judgement delivered by the lower tribunal for the conduct of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting at Osogbo on Friday, the 27th day of January, 2023, is a nullity.”