BREAKING: Ondo Guber; Court rules in PDP’s forgery case agsinst Aiyedatiwa’s Deputy

Court Rejects PDP’s Ajayi’s Forgery Lawsuit Against APC Candidates in Ondo

BREAKING: Ondo Guber; Court rules in PDP’s forgery case agsinst Aiyedatiwa’s Deputy

A lawsuit on Monday that seeking to disqualify the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the November 16 governorship election has been dismissed by a Federal High Court in Akure, the State capital.

The suit, filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, challenged the eligibility of Deputy Governor-elect Dr. Olayide Adelami, alleging discrepancies in the names submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ajayi, through his lawyer, Mr. M. Ndoka SAN, argued that Adelami’s multiple and conflicting names should disqualify him from contesting as the APC’s deputy governorship candidate, thus seeking the disqualification of both Adelami and the APC’s governorship candidate.

During the court proceedings, six Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) represented the parties involved in the case. Ajayi’s legal team argued that the conflicting names—Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami—should disqualify the candidates.

They also sought an order restraining INEC from publishing the candidates’ names or allowing them to participate in the election.

However, Dr. Remi Olatubora, SAN, counsel for Adelami, presented evidence showing that Adelami’s academic credentials bore different variations of his name, including “Adelami Owolabi Jackson” on a 1974 WAEC result and “Adelami Olaide Owolabi” on a 1982 degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University.

Olatubora argued that the plaintiffs’ complaint was based on the order of the names, not discrepancies, and contended that they lacked the legal standing to file the suit since they were not members of the APC and had not participated in the party’s primary election.

In her ruling, Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke rejected all claims against the APC candidates, stating that Ajayi, as the second runner-up in the election, lacked locus standi to challenge their qualifications.

The judge also ruled that the case was filed outside the 14-day window required by the Electoral Act, rendering it statute-barred.

Furthermore, the court found that the matter involved criminal allegations of certificate forgery and perjury, which would require evidence from the relevant authorities, not a civil suit.

Justice Adegoke also emphasized that, according to Section 29 of the Electoral Act, only candidates from the same party or those who participated in the relevant primary elections have the standing to challenge the qualifications of party nominees.

Consequently, the court dismissed the suit, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and resolved all issues in favor of the defendants.