The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has dismissed a pre-election appeal filed by Ikie Aghwarianovwe, seeking the disqualification of Delta State Governor-elect, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
Ikie had filed a suit in October 2022, alleging that Oborevwori submitted false documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to aid his qualification for the 2019 House of Assembly election in Delta State.
Ikie further claimed that as a result of the alleged forged documents, Oborevwori was not qualified to contest the 2023 gubernatorial election in Delta State.
The suit was initially assigned to the Justice Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, but subsequently transferred to Asaba, Delta State.
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In the course of the trial in Delta State, the PDP and Oborevwori, after denying the allegation of forgery, raised an objection that the suit was statute-barred, noting that documents submitted to INEC in 2018 towards the 2019 general election cannot be a ground for disqualification of a candidate in 2023.
The court upheld the defendants’ objection and pronounced that Ikie failed to substantiate the allegations of forgery.
Aggrieved, Ikie appealed to the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, the Edo State capital.
However, the Appeal Court in Abuja, in a unanimous judgement by Justice Peter Olabisi Ige, agreed with the trial court and resolved all the issues for determination in favour of Oborevwori.
The court declared that Ikie’s case is moribund and cannot be revived under any guise.
The Appeal Court came down heavily on the appellant for alleging falsification without calling the institutions that issued the certificates to Oborevwori.
The court, therefore, dismissed the appeal and ordered Ikie to pay N1 million each in favour of the PDP and the Delta Governor-elect.
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