Appeal Court Affirms Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as Senator for Kogi Central

•Democracy has triumphed over anarchy, says Ajaka

Alex Enumah and Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has upheld the judgment of the Kogi State Senatorial Tribunal which on September 6, sacked the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere, as winner of the Kogi State central senatorial election.

A three-man panel of the appellate affirmed the judgment of the tribunal, shortly after it dismissed Sadiku-Ohere’s appeal for lacking in merit.

According to the Court of Appeal, the appellant failed to provide convincing evidence why the judgment of the tribunal should be set aside.

The appellate court, subsequently held that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) having won the majority of lawful votes cast at the poll, was declared winner of the Kogi State Central Senatorial District poll.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sadiku-Ohere of the APC winner of the February 25, senatorial election.

Dissatisfied, Akpoti Uduaghan had appealed the declaration on grounds that INEC failed to input results of nine polling units in Ajaokuta, Local Government Area, whose votes gave her the lead above Sadiku-Ohere.

The rejected and excluded results were then added to the overall results which then revealed that the PDP candidate won the majority of votes cast at the poll.

The appellate court in rejecting the APC’s candidate’s appeal, held that INEC which has the duty of conducting and collating results failed to provide reasons why the results of the elections in the affected local government area were rejected and excluded from the overall results.

According to Justice Hamma Barka, who delivered the judgment, evidence before the court confirmed that election held in the affected polling units, results were announced and entered into the results sheets.

“No reason was available to justify the rejection and exclusion of the results,” Justice Barka said, adding that, “no evidence was adduced to justify over voting, corrupt practices and non-compliance amongst others.”

Besides, the appellate court pointing out that INEC exhibited gross irresponsibility by rejecting and excluding the said results presented before it without any justifiable reason.

Having resolved all issues in the appeal against the appellant, Justice Barka, held that the appeal lacked merit and subsequently dismissed it.

The appellate court accordingly upheld the judgment of the tribunal which sacked Sadiku-Ohere for lacking in merit and affirmed Akpoti Uduaghan as the authentic winner of the February 25 senatorial election in Kogi Central Senatorial District.

A three-man panel of the Kogi State Senatorial election had on September 6, declared the PDP candidate winner on grounds that she won majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.

According to the tribunal, Akpoti-Uduaghan polled 54,074 votes as against 51,291 scored by Sadiku-Ohere.

The three-member panel led by K. A. Orjiako, held that the earlier announced results in which Sadiku-Ohere was declared winner by INEC were inflated in nine polling units of Ajaokuta Local Government Area (LGA) while the votes of Akpoti-Uduaghan were intentionally reduced by INEC Ward Collation officers.

The panel then went ahead to make adequate corrections based on the evidence presented before it and declared Akpoti-Uduaghan as the rightful winner of the poll, having polled 54,074 against Mr. Sadiku-Ohere (APC) who polled 51,291 votes.

“After making the proper corrections, Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan (PDP), having polled 54,074 against Abubakar Ohere’s 51,291, is hereby declared the authentic winner,” Mr Orjiako declared.

Adding: “During the collation of results, three other polling units’ result was deliberately not entered for Natasha in the same Local Government.

“From the pieces of evidence before this tribunal, Natasha’s votes in the nine polling units of Ajaokuta were 1073 against the 77 recorded by the Ward Collation Officers, while those scored by Ohere were inflated to 1553 against the actual figure of 1031.

“In view of this, we are convinced that the petitioners’ 996 votes in polling units 009, 046 and O49 polling units of Ganaja village of Ajaokuta were deliberately not recorded at the Ward Collation Centre.

“It is not the duty of collation officers to reject results submitted by Presiding Officers from polling units in an election that followed the electoral guidelines substantially. That officer failed in his duty.”

The tribunal subsequently ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Ohere and issue the same to Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The appellate court which is the last court for National and States’ Assembly election, agreed in totality with the tribunal and declared Akpoti-Uduaghan as the rightful winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election.

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Murtala Ajaka, has described the declaration of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as the legitimately elected Senator of Kogi Central Senatorial District as a triumph of democracy over forces of anarchy.

 Ajaka, while reacting to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s victory over Ohere, said once more, the judiciary had rekindled hope that electoral victory procured through violence and manipulation could only be temporary.

In a statement issued by his spokesman and Director Communications, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, he said the world saw how Akpoti-Uduaghan’s victory was forcefully upturned by forces of anarchy.

“The world watched as your clear victory was brazenly upturned by desperate forces of anarchy even when you won four out of five local government areas in the Central Senatorial District believing that they can get away with the broad daylight heist.

“But thanks to your indefatigability and the resolve of the judiciary to do justice without fear of favour, you have ended the era of electoral impunity in Kogi State today,” Ajaka wrote in a congratulatory message released by his spokesman.

He stated the feat achieved by Akpoti-Uduaghan had further emboldened him in his resolve to vanquish the same undemocratic forces who have reduced elections in Kogi State to blood-letting and manipulation.

He described her as an authentic lioness who hunted down and devoured a phantom predator calling himself the “white lion.”