Appeal Court decides on Ighodale disqualification case

On Friday, September 6, the Court of Appeal in Abuja once more rejected an appeal brought by Arthur Osene and Anslem Ojezua against PDP governorship candidate Dr. Asue Ighodalo and four other individuals.

Barka JCA delivered the judgment in the appeal case suit no. CA/ABJ/CV/863/2024, ruling that the lower court was correct to conclude that the action was statute barred and that the court lacked jurisdiction to consider such a matter.

“Once the constitution specifies a time frame for completing an action, that action must be completed within that time frame. In accordance with the Constitution’s s.285(9), the topic is pre-election.

The supreme court has held that the cause of action in a pre election matter arises on the day the infraction was made. A calculation here renders the action above the prescribed 14 days.” The Court Stated

Furthermore, the Appellate court also dismissed the allegations of PVC forgery as baseless and lacking in merit without proof.

“The burden of proving forgery is proof beyond reasonable doubt and there is no evidential basis to prove forgery in this case. The lower court finding that forgery has not been proved has not been disputed. The lower court is right that a voters card is not a requirement for qualification to contest the office of Governor” Justice Barka stated

The Court unanimously resolved all issues against the Appellants and reaffirmed Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the validly nominated Candidate of the Peoples Democractic Party in Edo State ahead of the scheduled September 21st Guber Election.

In addition, the court consequently struck out the Appellants case for lacking in merit and awarded a cost of N3M against the Appellants accordingly.

With these legal hurdles out of the way, the coast is now clear for Asue Ighodalo to contest the forthcoming September Election as the Flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party