Gabriel Enogholase
27 June 2008
Lagos — THE Edo State Election Petition Tribunal, headed by Justice Peter Umeadi, yesterday upheld the election of Senator Yisa Braimoh, representing Edo North Senatorial district in the Senate.
The tribunal in a 4-hour judgment read by Justice Muktar Joshua held that the petitioners, Dr. Tunde Lakoju and the Action Congress (AC) failed to prove that the election did not hold in Edo North Senatorial district.
He added that the evidence of the respondents' witnesses and officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) proved that elections was conducted in the senatorial zone on April 21st, 2007 in compliance with the Electoral Act 2006.
It also affirmed that the petitioners failed to show that the non-compliance and corrupt practices, which he complained of, had substantially affected the overall results of the election.
"It is the law that the categories of officers who had direct experience of what happened at the various levels of the electoral process that is admissible. In the instant petition, the categories of those officers that had direct experience on what happened are the presiding officers, polling clerks and polling agents as well as those electoral officers who served as collation officers.
"We accept the evidence of those electoral officers as it relates with non-compliance with the Electoral Act. Where a petitioner alleges non-compliance in an election, the petitioner must try and satisfy the tribunal that such non-compliance is substantial enough to affect the overall result of the election.
The onus of proof is on the petitioner to show that such allegations of non-compliance have substantially affected the result of the election.
"The petitioner must satisfy the court that the election result justifies nullification. From all that we have said earlier in this judgment, the petitioners have not shown that non-compliance affected the overall result of the election, therefore issues two and three are resolved in the negative.
"We affirmed the return of the 2nd Respondent as the winner of the Senatorial election held on 21, April 2007".
In his petition, Dr. Lakoku had urged the tribunal to declare the winner of the election having scored majority of the lawful votes just as he complained that the election was marred with irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2006.
In his response, Sen. Yisa Braimoh had this to say, "I have today listened to and heard the judgment delivered by the Hon. Justice Peter Umeadi's Edo State Elections Tribunal, where the Petition filed by Dr. Tunde Lakoju, the AC Edo North Senatorial Candidate was struck out and dismissed".
"It is with gratitude to Almighty Allah that I received and accepted the judgment.
Apart from the fact that I believed very firmly that the April 21st, 2007 MANDATE that was freely given to me by the entire Afenmai people of Edo North Senatorial District could not be wished away at the doorsteps of any Tribunal, the judgment of the Tribunal itself is a vindication of the wish of the entire people of Edo North Senatorial district."
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