A’Court rules Adeleke qualifies to contest guber poll
By Andrew Orolua, Abuja
The Court of Appeal, Abuja on Thursday held that Senator Ademola Adeleke possessed the requisite qualification to contest the Osun state governorship election on September 22, 2018.
A Federal Capital Territory High Court had on April 4 disqualified the candidature of Sen. Adeleke the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the contest of the said election on the ground that he did not possess the requisite qualification.
In a unanimous judgment on Thursday, the Court of Appeal said that the suit filed by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the FCT High Court challenging Adeleke’s qualification was a pre -election matter brought outside the 14 days allowed by law.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim also held that being a pre -election matter, the suit ought not to have been filed 43 days after the appellant had submitted the alleged forged WAEC certificate.
Besides, Justice Agim stated that the trial court delivered its judgment on the suit 209 days, instead of the 180 constitutionally stipulated for judgment for trial courts on pre -election matters.
He resolved the five issues raised in the appeal filed by Sen. Adeleke in his favour, declaring that the judgment delivered by Justice Othman Musa of the FCT High Court null and void having been delivered outside the 180 days.
The Court of Appeal also held that the FCT High Court had no jurisdiction to have entertained the suit whose cause of action arose from Oshogbo, the capital of Osun state where Adeleke submitted the alleged forged certificate.
The appellate court further faulted the decision of the FCT High Court on the ground that the court has no powers to set aside the decision of the Osun state High Court.
It further said the high court has no jurisdiction to sit on appeal over the decision of a court of coordinate jurisdiction, particularly as the judgment binds all, including the FCT High Court.
He consequently, declared the decision of the FCT High Court a nullity, adding that it was curious that the trial court also sub-poenaed some evidences and exhibits such as the affidavit evidence from WEAC, but woefully failed to consider them in the judgment.
