Osun: Supreme Court rules on Omisore’s appeal May 27

The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed May 27 for judgment in the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, against the election of the All Progressives Congress candidate, the incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola.



The seven-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Fabiyi, fixed the date for judgment after parties adopted and argued their respective briefs on Thursday.

Omisore, who attended the hearing on Thursday, urged the apex court, through his counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), ‎to set aside the concurrent judgments of the two lower courts.

The former Osun State Deputy Governor and his party had filed the appeals against the decisions of the Justice ‎ Justice Gana Mshelia-led panel of the Court of Appeal ‎in Akure, which, on April 2, 2015, affirmed the earlier judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

The Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led‎ tribunal had on February 6, 2015, dismissed Omisore’s petition for lacking in merit and affirmed Aregbesola’s victory.

Izinyon, who filed two separate appeals on behalf of Omisore and the PDP, challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal, urged the Supreme Court to‎ allow his appeals and dismiss the cross-appeal filed by Aregbesola and the APC.

One of the appellants’ appeals emanated from the main judgment of the Court of Appeal while the other appeal and the respondents’ cross-appeal arose from the decision of the appellate court on the admissibility of a d‎ocument in favour of the petitioners at the tribunal.

But the three respondents to the appeals – Aregbesola, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission – who were represented by different lawyers, separately urged the court to dismiss the ‎appeals.