Fayemi’s Election: Supreme Court Throws Out Oni’s Appeal

 

A five-man panel of the Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal instituted by former governor of Ekiti state, Mr Segun Oni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which sought to upturn the Court of Appeal’s decision that sacked him from Ekiti state government house.

The former governor had hoped to cash in on the judicial crisis that rocked the nation’s judiciary when Justice Ayo Isa-Salami was forcefully suspended from office by appealing to the Supreme Court alleging likelihood of bias in his defeat at the Ekiti election appeal.

Mr Oni in his suit relied on Section 36 of the Constitution which guarantees right to fair hearing and had asked the Apex court to revisit the judgment of the Court of Appeal which removed him from office.

However counsel to Governor Kayode Fayemi relying on Section 246 (3) opposed the appeal and contended that as at the time the governorship election was conducted in 2007, that the Court of Appeal was the final court to determine governorship election matters.

In an unanimous decision, the Supreme Court agreed with Mr Fayemi and held that attempt by Oni to lure the apex court to exercise its authority by meddling into an appeal already determined by the Court of Appeal which is the final court over the governorship election matters, is an attempt to get back into Ekiti state government house.

In the decision read by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the court declined Oni’s invitation to interfere in an appeal that had been adequately determined and settled by a competent court which had the final say on such elections as at the time the election was conducted.

The court subsequently dismissed Oni’s appeal and insisted that his appeal has nothing to do with Section 36 of the constitution, especially in view of the provision of Section 246(3) of the same constitution.

Frivolous Appeal

In his reaction to the judgment, Mr Fayemi said he is not surprised with the ruling of the court as it has continued to remain the saving grace of Nigeria’s democracy.

According to him the matter ought not to have gone to Supreme Court in the first place as it has no place in the country’s jurisprudence.

He however called for the establishment of Election Offences Commission noting that if the former governor had been prosecuted for committing electoral fraud in the state, he would not have had the opportunity to approach the apex court with what he called a frivolous appeal with the purpose of distracting the government of Ekiti state and a waste of the time of the court.

Source: http://www.channelstv.com