The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the orders of the Court of Appeal in Abuja setting aside the inspection order that was granted to the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the Kogi State gubernatorial election by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The Tribunal had on November 25, 2023, granted an ex parte order, allowing the SDP and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, to carry out a forensic examination of all the Bimodal Voters Accreditation system (BVAS) used in the election, among other reliefs.
But on Friday, March 1, 2024, a three-man panel of justices of the Court of Appeal set aside the inspection order.
However, Ajaka and the SDP instructed their legal team to appeal to the Supreme Court against the orders of the Court of Appeal. And on Thursday, the Supreme Court stayed the execution of the orders of the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal had on March 1, 2024 stated that though inspection is allowed under the electoral act, it must be jointly carried out with the respondent.
The Court of Appeal had held that the ex parte order made by the Tribunal on November 25, 2023 at the instance of the 1st and 2nd Respondents (Ajaka and the SDP) “are within the jurisdictional competence of the said Tribunal”.
“However, paragraphs ‘G’, ‘K’ and ‘N’ thereof are beyond the scope of Section 146 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022. The said paragraphs ‘G’, ‘K’ and ‘N’ are hereby expunged,” the Court of Appeal ruled.
It added that the inspection purportedly done pursuant to the said orders of the Tribunal without the presence of the Appellant “violates paragraph ‘H’ of the said orders and it is hereby set aside”.
However, the Supreme Court, on Thursday, stayed the execution of the orders of the Court of Appeal regarding the inspection and paragraphs ‘G’, ‘K’ and ‘N’.
The stay of execution followed the application for an interim stay made by the legal team of Ajaka and the SDP.
Moving the application on Thursday morning, the legal team of Ajaka and the SDP urged the Supreme Court to grant the application to avoid irreparable damages the orders of the Court of Appeal would cause the petitioners.
The Supreme Court agreed and ordered for stay in terms of the reliefs sought in the motion filed on March 5, 2024. The motion on notice has been adjourned to March 11, 2024, for a hearing.
