Appeal Court Re-affirms Sen. Sunmonu’s Mandate

THE Court of Appeal in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday, struck out a suit by Chief Bisi Ilaka and the Accord Party, against a September 29, 2015 ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal.

The judgment, which lasted about one hour 30 minutes, was delivered by Hon. Justice T. Abubakar.

Lawyers to Senator Sunmonu (Oyo Central Senatorial District) had filed a preliminary objection on six grounds. In determination of the objection, the court started with the first ground of objection and found enough merit in ground one alone to determine the entire appeal.

The court agreed with the counsel to Sunmonu that the notice of appeal and appellant’s brief of argument were incompetent, having not complied with the provisions of the law.

This was enough to warrant the striking out of the notice of appeal and the brief of argument. Consequently, the appeal was struck out and the mandate of Sunmonu in the March 28, 2015 election was held as proper and lawful.

Addressing the press after the judgment, Sunmonu’s lawyer, Temilolu Ashamu, said they appreciated the ruling and the decision to safeguard the will of the electorate who came out en masse to vote for Sunmonu, adding that it was a victory for justice and equity.

The lawyer for the appellant could not be reached for comments.