Breaking: Court dismisses APC’s suit seeking to disqualify PDP candidate, Adebutu, from 2023 guber election in Ogun

The Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday dismissed the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking the disqualification of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ladi Adebutu, from contesting the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State.

The presiding judge, Justice Joyce Obehi Malik, in his judgment on Wednesday, dismissed the suit filed by the APC: APC v. INEC & 3 ORS, Suit No FHC/AB/CS/149/2022, against Hon Ladi Adebutu, PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State; his running mate, Hon Adekunle Akinlade, and the PDP, challenging Akinlade and Adebutu’s qualification to contest the 2023 governorship election, alleging double nomination. The judge also awarded N6 million cost to Adebutu, Akinlade and the PDP.

Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN led Prof Amuda-Kannike, SAN; Chief Emeka Okpoko, SAN; Isiaka Olagunju, SAN; Kadiri Asamah, SAN; Clement Onwuenwunor, SAN; and a team of other lawyers in defence of Adebutu, Akinlade and the PDP on the suit.

Wale Habeeb Ajayi, Esq, was Counsel for the Plaintiff, the APC.

The lead counsel for Adebutu and the PDP, Mike Ozekhome, had enjoined the court to dismiss the suit  in its entirety, “notwithstanding the belated notice of discontinuance hurriedly filed by the APC only this morning when it very well knew it had lost the case on its merit.”

Ozekhome argued that the case had come up on four different occasions for argument after issues had been properly joined by all parties and arguments had, indeed, commenced only yesterday, before the APC, sensing its imminent defeat, suddenly threw in the towel belatedly by filing a notice of discontinuance just this morning,  the second day of hearing and argument.
Ozekhome, citing several appellate court  decisions, including amongst others, ZOAKA V. BUBA & ANOR (2020), OGBU V. NNAMCHI & ANOR (2014), ERONINI V. IHEUKO (1989), and EZOMO V. AG, BENDEL STATE (1986), urged Justice Joyce Obehi Malik to dismiss the suit in its entirety and award heavy cost of N3 million against the APC in favour of Adebutu so as to prevent the APC from ever coming back through the back door to file a similar frivolous suit.

Wale Habeeb had accepted the order of dismissal as being the proper order to make but argued for only N1 million as cost.

The court wholly agreed with Ozekhome and Kannike’ s submissions that the proper order to make in the circumstances of the case was one of outright dismissal and not one of merely striking out the case.

The Judge, therefore, dismissed the case and awarded N6 million cost in favour  of the defendants – N2 million respectively, to Ladi Adebutu,  the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, his running mate, Adekunle Akinlade, and the PDP.