•••As Apex Court Reserves Judgment
By Joy Yesufu, Abuja
Governor Douye Diri, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have urged the Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal filed by Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to challenge the outings of the Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.
The Supreme Court panel led by Justice Garba Lawal also reserved its judgment in the appeal to a later date to be communicated to the parties involved in the dispute.
During the Monday’s proceedings, Diri, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chris Uche, argued that Sylva’s appeal lacks merit and should be dismissed in its entirety.
Uche contended that the appeal is fundamentally flawed, asserting that it is “terribly bad beyond redemption” because it is unsupported by any credible witnesses or documentary evidence.
INEC, represented by Charles Edoshomwan (SAN), and the PDP, represented by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), echoed Diri’s stance, urging the apex court to reject the appeal on similar grounds of lacking merit.
On the other hand, Sylva, through his legal counsel Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), pleaded with the Supreme Court to overturn the judgments of both the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had previously dismissed his petition.
Sylva’s legal team requested that the Supreme Court invalidate INEC’s declaration of Diri as the winner of the election and instead, recognize Sylva as the rightful winner.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Supreme Court panel, headed by Justice Garba Lawal, announced that judgment would be deferred, with the final decision to be communicated to the parties at a later date.
