Ogun 2023: Appeal Court Reserves Judgement on the 23 Cases Instituted by APC Against Otegbeye and ADC
….Labour Party Fails To Show up in Court
Bidemi Alabi
The Appeal Court in Ibadan on Wednesday reserved Judgement in the cases against Barrister Biyi Otegbeye, also known as BOT, the Ogun State gubernatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the 26 House of Assembly candidates of the party, NigerianEcho has learnt.
The ruling party, All Progressive Congress (APC), had instituted 23 cases against Otegbeye at the Federal High Court in Abeokuta. The presiding judge, Akintayo Aluko on November 26, ruled in favour of the APC.
The Judge ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), should remove the name of ADC Governorship candidate, Barrister Biyi Otegbeye, from the list of candidates contesting the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.
The Labour Party (LP) in the State also sued Otegbeye and ADC and the trial judge also ruled in the favour of LP.
However, while the APC lawyers were in the court, neither the Labour Party Representative nor its lawyers showed up at the Appeal Court in Ibadan today 11th January 2022 when the matters came up for hearing.
In the case between OLUBIYI OTEGBEYE v LP read by Court’s Clerk at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, and presided over by Justice Hon. Justice Moore Aseimo Abraham Adumein, Labour party Representatives were conspicuously absent.
Lawyers that stood for Olubiyi Otegbeye and ADC referred to Rivers PDP vs APC and said there is no locus standi in the case against ADC, and that it is only individual members within the ADC that have a right to sue and not an entity outside the party.
The ADC lawyer quoted from previous Appeal and Supreme Court judgements that say ‘only an aspirant who participated in a primary can sue’.
Court reserved judgement in the Appeal at a date to be communicated.
