The Court of Appeal, sitting in Benin, the Edo State capital, yesterday dashed the hope of the Young Democratic Party (YDP) and its governorship candidate, Nurudeen Inwanfero, by upturning the judgment of the State Election Petitions Tribunal delivered on December 8, last year.
Following the dismissal of their petition against the declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the September 28 poll, the petitioners approached the appellate court, seeking to upturn the judgment.
Joined as respondents in the appeal are: the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC and Obaskei.
The governor’s lawyer, Santos Femi Owootori, filed a counter-motion against the appeal.
In the counter-Motion on Notice, Owootori sought an order dismissing the appeal brought by the appellants/respondents through their notice of appeal dated December 16, last year, and filed on December 20, last year.
He hinged his application on the grounds that the appellants/respondents filed their notice and grounds of appeal at the lower tribunal on December 20, last year, without complying, at the time of the filing it, with Paragraph 7(a) of the Election Tribunal and Court Practice Direction 2011 on fulfilment of conditions of appeal.
Owootori argued that since the appellants/respondents filed their notice and grounds of appeal on December 20, last year, at the lower tribunal, no records of proceedings/appeal has been compiled and served/transmitted as at January 03.
The lawyer noted that this was 14 days after the filing of the notice of appeal, in violation of Paragraph 9 of the Election Tribunal and Court Practice Direction 2011.