Ogun Tribunal: Appeal court restores Adebutu, PDP’s vote buying claims against Abiodun, APC

By Vivian Okejeme Abuja

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, has restored the vote buying allegations made by the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu against Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress(APC)
The appellate court gave the ruling in an appeal marked: CA/IB/EPT/GOV/OG/03/2023, filed by Adebutu and PDP on the 6th of July, 2023, which was heard on August 3, 2023.
The appeal was against the ruling of Justice A. Kanuza of the Ogun State Governorship Tribunal delivered on June 19, 2023, on vote buying during the March 18, Governorship election in Ogun State.
The Tribunal had ruled in favour of the 2nd respondent and struck out the petitioner’s reply to the 2nd respondent’s reply to the petition.
But on Wednesday, the Court of Appeal panel in a judgement written by Justice M. B Idris and read by Justice Aliyu Waziri, sustained paragraphs 2, 4,5,6,10,11,14,15,16 and 18 of Adebutu and PDP’s (Petitioners) reply to the 2nd respondent’s reply to the petition.
The sustained paragraphs of the petitioners’ reply bother on the submission of forged certificate to the 1st respondent (INEC) by the 2nd respondent (Dapo Abiodun), violence and disruption of polling units by agents of the 2nd respondent and allegation of vote buying by the 2nd respondent.
Also, the sustained paragraphs include the petitioners defence on the allegation of vote buying raised by the 2nd respondent in his reply to the petition.