ACCORD Party candidate for the Oyo South senatorial election, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, has appealed the October 14, judgment of the Justice Tanko Usman-led election petitions tribunal which dismissed the petition he filed against the election of Senator Soji Akanbi.
Lanlehin, in a notice of appeal filed on November 2 by his counsel, Richard Ogunwole SAN, is asking the Court of Appeal, Ibadan judicial division, to set aside the judgment of the tribunal on 14 grounds.
He said the verdict was against the weight of evidence he presented before the tribunal to prove that the March 28 election was marred by irregularities and malpractices.
He described the refusal of the tribunal to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Rufus Akeju, from participating in the hearing of the petition, in view of the July 7 judgment of the Appellate Court, as a miscarriage of justice.
The Appellate Court had set aside the ruling of the tribunal which granted extension of time to INEC and Akeju who filed their reply to the petition after 44 days, instead of the 21 days allowed in law.
According to him, the tribunal erred in law when it held that report of inspection of materials used for the election was inadmissible because it was a computer-generated document.
“The respondent did not controvert or otherwise challenge the evidence of the petitioner that the report was generated by an electronic typewriter. The tribunal failed in its judicial duty not to have relied on the uncontroverted evidence of the petitioner.
“The 2nd and 3rd respondents (INEC and Akeju) are deemed to have admitted the facts pleaded by the petitioner for failure to file a memorandum of appearance and reply to the petitioner’s petition,” the appeal notice said
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