Ekiti: Appeal court reserves judgement on suit challenging Oyebanji’s nomination

The Ado-Ekiti division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by a contestant in the January 27 Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election, Kayode Ojo, challenging the victory of the Governor-elect, Biodun Oyebanji.

The appeal brought by Ojo was heard at the court’s sitting on Monday with parties in the appeal adopting processes filed including motions on notice, briefs of argument and preliminary objections, among others.

The presiding judge, Justice Aseimo Adumein after lawyers to parties in the appeal had adopted their processes and argued their briefs, adjourned for judgment on a date expected to be communicated to parties later.

Oyebanji through his counsel, Yakubu Mikyau, SAN and the APC through its counsel, Shaibu Aruwa, SAN, whose brief was argued by Titilayo Precious Soje, urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking merit and for being incompetent.

He argued that Ojo’s appeal has become academic and it serves no useful purpose as ruled by the lower court which had earlier adjudicated the matter.

Counsel to Ojo, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, urged the court to allow the appeal and grant all the reliefs sought by his client maintained that the lower court was wrong to have struck out the suit without going into the merit of the case.

While arguing that the lower court was wrong in striking out Ojo’s suit without going into the merit of the case, Izinyon cited the case of ANPP v Obaseki on Page 22-24 of his brief of argument ruing the decision of the trial court to “throw the baby away with bath water.”

The Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti presided over by Justice Babs Kuewumi, had on  August 4, 2022, struck out a suit filed by Ojo and upheld Oyebanji’s preliminary objection that the writ of summons and statement of claim of Ojo were defective which it said dealt a fatal blow to the case.

The lower court agreed with Oyebanji’s counsel that the discrepancies in the names of a counsel on Ojo’s originating summons and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) stamp had rendered the suit defective and incompetent.