Supreme Court dismisses Adeleke, PDP petitions, confirms Oyetola as Osun Governor

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of Osun State and dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate Ademola Adeleke in the September 2018 election.

The court in a split decision of five to two, held that the proceedings and the majority judgment of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal which had declared the PDP as the winner of the poll were a nullity.

Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour who read the lead majority judgment noted that the absence of Justice Peter Obiorah who later read the lead judgment of the tribunal during the February 6, 2019 hearing, had rendered the entire proceedings of the said tribunal and its judgment a nullity.

The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, and three other members consented to the lead majority judgment.

However, Justice Kumai Akaahs and Justice Paul Galinje affirmed PDP as the winner of the poll.