The Supreme Court docket has put aside an earlier judgment of the Court docket of Enchantment quashing the inspection order granted to the Social Democratic Get together (SDP) candidate by the Governorship Electoral Tribunal in Abuja.
The Governorship Election Tribunal had granted an Exparte Order on November 25, 2023, permitting the Social Democratic Get together and its candidate within the November 11, 2023 gubernatorial election to conduct forensic investigations into all of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in use. within the governorship elections, amongst different miscellaneous reliefs.
A 3-member panel of judges of the Court docket of Enchantment, led by Justice JOK Oyewole, with the concurrence of Justices AI Banjoko and AB Mohammed, the Court docket of Enchantment quashed the inspection order, saying it had gone past the scope of the Electoral Act.
The Court docket of Enchantment held that though inspection is permitted underneath the Electoral Act, it have to be carried out collectively with the defendant and the scope of the inspection should stay inside the strict limits permitted underneath the Election regulation.
Nonetheless, the Supreme Court docket in a judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim on Thursday allowed the appellants' enchantment, saying the order to examine the tribunal was inside its energy.
The court docket is moreover of the opinion that the defendants have been duly served.
PA Akubo, Chief JS Okutepa SAN and Chief AA Malik SAN led different counsel for the appellants.
