The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the election of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
Adebutu had contested the outcome of the March 2023 gubernatorial election, alleging irregularities and non-compliance with electoral laws.
He claimed that Governor Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not score the required majority votes and sought the court to nullify his victory.
However, the apex court deemed Adebutu’s claims to be unsubstantiated and lacking in merit. The court, therefore, dismissed the appeal and affirmed Governor Abiodun’s election as the rightful winner of the Ogun State gubernatorial race.
This judgement puts an end to a series of legal proceedings that began with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaring Abiodun the winner of the state gubernatorial election with 276,298 votes, against Adebutu’s 262,383 votes.
Dissatisfied with this outcome, Adebutu petitioned the Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, but his challenge was dismissed by the tribunal led by Justice Hamidu Kunaza.
Adebutu subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which, in a split decision of two to three, also upheld the tribunal’s verdict.
Adebutu then took his case to the Supreme Court, seeking a reversal of the previous rulings.
