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The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Ikie Aghwarianovwe, seeking the disqualification of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for allegedly providing false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about his academic qualifications and date of birth.
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A five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Friday that Aghwarianovwe’s appeal was dismissed because he failed to show that the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts were perverse.
The lead judgement was written by Justice Adamu Jauro and read by Justice Emmanuel Agim on Friday.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal, Asaba division, delivered on May 5, 2023, which upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, Asaba division, that Aghwarianovwe failed to prove his case and that Oborevwori was qualified to contest the state’s most recent governorship election.
Justice Jauro noted that none of the grounds of the appeal showed that the concurrent findings of the two lower courts were perverse.
“After a very detailed consideration of every argument of all the parties on the various issues raised, I find that no matter how the instant appeal is viewed, it is bound to fail.
“There is no saving grace for it. Right from the grounds of appeal to the prominent issue of jurisdiction and now to the merit itself, the appeal was dead on arrival, with zero chance of success.
“Flowing from the foregoing, I find no merit in the instant appeal. I dismiss same,” he said, proceeding to affirm the earlier decisions of two lower courts.
Justice Jauro awarded a cost of six million naira against the appellant, to be paid at three million naira each for the first and second respondents, PDP and Oborevwori.
Other members of the panel—Justices Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Tijani Abubakar, and Agim—agreed with the lead judgement.
