News
Gov Poll: Confusion As Copies Of Edo Tribunal Judgement Surfaces Online
Barely 24 hours after summoning parties to appear before it, copies of the purported judgment of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has flooded the internet.
The Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal had on March 3, reserved its judgment on the case the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Mr Asuerinme Ighodalo, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship poll that was held in the state on September 21, 2024.
The panel had in the early hours of Tuesday, directed the parties to appear before it on Wednesday for the judgement.
However, in what appeared as a leakage, copies of the judgement made their way into the internet, indicating a two-to-one split in the decision of the tribunal.
According to the documents that were sighted on Tuesday, while Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kpochi, and member 1 of the tribunal, Justice A. B. Yusuf, dismissed the petition and affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo, the third member of the panel, Justice A. A. Adewole, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue fresh Certificate of Return to Ighodalo of the PDP as the authentic winner of the poll.
READ ALSO: Why I Refused To Pay My Wife’s Bride Price, Man Tells Court
In the said minority judgement, Justice Adewole held that Governor Okpebholo’s election was invalid by reason of non-substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
He held that the 2nd Respondent, governor Okpebholo, was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast and proceeded to nullify his return as the winner of the gubernatorial contest.
“The petitioners case was not rebutted and showed unit by unit, how the actual total should be 243,113 votes, while the 2nd Respondent’s tally should stand at 210, 326 votes- a clear reversal of the declared result,” Justice Adewole was credited to have held in the leaked documents.
However, in the lead and majority decision of the tribunal, its Chairman, Justice Kpochi, held that “while there was credible evidence of non-compliance particularly concerning section 73(2) (failure to record serial numbers in EC 25B) and section 51(2) (over-voting) the petitioners failed to demonstrate that these breaches substantially affected the outcome of the election as required under section 135(1) of the Electoral Act.
“On the issue of the majority of lawful votes, the petitioners established instances of incorrect collation and exclusion of results. However, their mathematical and documentary evidence did not conclusively establish that the margin of lead was overtaken or that they scored the highest number of lawful votes.”
READ ALSO: UK Releases Names of Dead Nigerians With Unclaimed Estates, Searches For Relatives
Relying on the Supreme Court decided cases in Oyetola Vs Adeleke, 2023, 10NWLR (Pt 1892), as well as Atiku Vs INEC (2023), 19NWLR, pt. 1927, the panel held that the petitioners failed to prove not only that non-compliance occured, but also that it was substantial enough to have affected the result of the election.
Adding that the petitioners ought to have tied every complaint to figures, demonstrated the net effect of each infraction and shown that for the violation the outcome would have changed.
“We find that the petitioners have not discharged the dual burden to the satisfaction of the law.
“Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” the document further read.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291, 667 votes to defeat his closet rivalry, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247, 655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, alleging that it was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, it was alleged that Governor Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes that were cast at the election.
It was equally the contention of the petitioners that INEC failed to serialise and pre-record some of the sensitive materials that were deployed for the poll, a situation they said aided the rigging of the election in favour of the APC and its candidate.
News
Man Charged After Fatal Southall Collision
A 20-year-old man has been charged after a fatal road collision in Southall, west London, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old passenger.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at about 1:04 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, following reports of a collision involving a Ford Mustang on South Road, Southall.
Officers attended the scene alongside paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and firefighters from the London Fire Brigade.
Despite efforts by emergency responders, 17-year-old passenger Ranbir Singh died at the scene.
His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
READ ALSO: US Boxer Mylik Birdsong Shot, Killed In LA Drive-by Shooting
Another passenger, a 26-year-old man, sustained serious injuries in the collision and remains in hospital, according to police.
The driver of the vehicle, Sukhveer Singh, 20, of Townsend Road, Southall, was arrested at the scene.
He was subsequently charged on Sunday, September 20, with causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.
He was also charged with driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a vehicle without insurance.
Singh appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 21, and was remanded in custody.
He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday, October 19.
READ ALSO: Reps Shoot Down Bill Seeking Rotational Presidency
Detective Inspector Fiaz Janjua, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is a truly tragic incident in which a young man has lost his life and another remains in hospital with serious injuries.
“Our deepest sympathies remain with Ranbir’s family and friends, who continue to be supported by specially trained officers. during this extremely difficult time.
“While a man has now been charged in connection with this collision, our investigation remains ongoing and we are continuing to establish the full circumstances leading up to the incident.
READ ALSO: Heated Rhetoric As Republicans Blame Biden For Trump Shooting
“I would ask anyone who witnessed the collision, the manner of driving beforehand, or the movements of the Ford Mustang in the Southall area during the early hours of Saturday, 19 September, to come forward.”
Police are particularly appealing to anyone who may have CCTV footage, doorbell recordings, mobile phone footage or dashcam recordings that could assist the investigation.
The Met urged anyone with information to contact police on 101, quoting reference 01/8080469/26.
The force said the investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision.
(MetPolice)
News
Return Of Fuel Subsidy: Atiku Plotting To Plunder Nigeria’s External Reserves, APC Alleges
All Progressives Congress (APC) has again kicked against the declaration by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to return the fuel subsidy regime if elected into office.
National Publicity Secretary of the governing party, Felix Morka, in a statement on Thursday alleged that the proposal to return fuel subsidy as being canvassed by the former vice-president was not informed by any altruistic motive but to plunder the country’s foreign reserves, which he noted, has risen to over $54 billion.
“Atiku’s sudden u-turn from his 2023 policy position in favour of fuel subsidy removal to his new promise to restore the fuel subsidy regime, if elected, must be understood as his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander, the country’s 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion built up from $3 billion by President Bola Tinubu in less than 4 years through bold and prudent economic reforms.
“The National Treasury that President Tinubu has built strong is what Atiku desires to scatter and plunder under the cover of his fake and unrealistic promise to restore the ruinous fuel subsidy regime.
READ ALSO: 2027: ADC’s Imansuagbon Rejects Zoning, Backs Atiku
“In his book, My Watch, President Olusegun Obasanjo characterized Atiku as possessing a propensity for corruption, a tendency toward disloyalty, poor judgment, and a readiness to sacrifice the national interest for selfish gains. In August 2026, Obasanjo described his decision to select Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his presidency.”
He stated, “The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.” That is an open-and-shut reference by the former President, Atiku’s principal, to his unfitness for public office.
“Atiku was an accidental Vice President, and categorically unfit for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The APC further alleged that “as a former public official, Atiku’s record is an executive summary of some of Nigeria’s vilest episodes of corruption and cronyism that pulverized our economy and decimated public trust.”
READ ALSO: Why Peter Obi Will Defeat Tinubu, Atiku In 2027 – Sam Amadi
The party urged the electorate to reject the ADC presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections.
“Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power, and save the country from his ravenous plunder.
“From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals and atrocities.
“These are not mere allegations. They are matters that are well documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations, national and foreign legislative reports, and international financial inquiries. Together, they raise legitimate questions about the fitness for probity and accountability of this serial presidential contender.”
News
Man Charged After Fatal Southall Collision
A 20-year-old man has been charged after a fatal road collision in Southall, west London, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old passenger.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at about 1:04 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, following reports of a collision involving a Ford Mustang on South Road, Southall.
Officers attended the scene alongside paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and firefighters from the London Fire Brigade.
Despite efforts by emergency responders, 17-year-old passenger Ranbir Singh died at the scene.
His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
READ ALSO:
Another passenger, a 26-year-old man, sustained serious injuries in the collision and remains in hospital, according to police.
The driver of the vehicle, Sukhveer Singh, 20, of Townsend Road, Southall, was arrested at the scene.
He was subsequently charged on Sunday, September 20, with causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.
He was also charged with driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a vehicle without insurance.
Singh appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 21, and was remanded in custody.
He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday, October 19.
READ ALSO:
Detective Inspector Fiaz Janjua, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is a truly tragic incident in which a young man has lost his life and another remains in hospital with serious injuries.
“Our deepest sympathies remain with Ranbir’s family and friends, who continue to be supported by specially trained officers. during this extremely difficult time.
“While a man has now been charged in connection with this collision, our investigation remains ongoing and we are continuing to establish the full circumstances leading up to the incident.
READ ALSO:
“I would ask anyone who witnessed the collision, the manner of driving beforehand, or the movements of the Ford Mustang in the Southall area during the early hours of Saturday, 19 September, to come forward.”
Police are particularly appealing to anyone who may have CCTV footage, doorbell recordings, mobile phone footage or dashcam recordings that could assist the investigation.
The Met urged anyone with information to contact police on 101, quoting reference 01/8080469/26.
The force said the investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision.
(MetPolice)
-
News4 days agoBREAKING: Tinubu Extends Working Vacation
-
Headline4 days agoHow To Format An Academic CV For US Master’s, PhD Applications
-
Headline5 days agoNigerian Man Jailed After Masturbating In Front Of Woman On UK Train
-
News3 days agoOPINION: The Stranger In APC’s Kitchen
-
Headline5 days agoMother Admits To Having Sex With Son ‘Only 100 Times’
-
News4 days agoBenue Govt Suspends Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board Chairman, Secretary
-
Politics4 days agoCrisis Rocks NDC Over Obi-Kwankwaso Campaign Council
-
Sports4 days ago5 Football Players Who Excelled In Multiple Positions
-
News5 days ago[OPINION] Wike-APC: Fights Always End Adultery
-
Entertainment4 days agoWhy Funke Akindele Was Not At My Movie Premiere – Kamo State
