S’Court rejects Ajaka’s request for full panel on Kogi gov appeal

The Supreme Court on Monday, refused to grant the request of the Social Democratic Party governorship candidate in Yakubu Ajaka, in the last election in Kogi State.

The apex court dismissed his application urging the court to await the outcome of his request for a full panel to hear an issue raised in his appeal.

In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Garba, who presided over a five-member panel, noted that the issue in respect of which the appellants seek a full panel was a fraction of the entire appeal.

Ajaka and his party are in an appeal marked: SC/CV/654/2024, praying to the apex Court to vacate the decisions of the lower Courts, both the judgment of the court of Appeal and that of the Kogi State election petition tribunal which upheld the victory of Ahmed Ododo of the All Progressives Congress in the state guber election.

At the resumed hearing of the appeal, the lawyer who appeared for Ajaka and the SDP, Pius Akubo told the court that his client had written the Chief Justice of Nigeria for the constitution of a full panel of the court to hear issues raised in Paragraphs 4.28 and 4.29, in page 16 of the appellants’ brief of argument.

Akubo said the appellants are by both paragraphs, praying the court to depart from previous decisions in determining their appeal.