Ikie Aghwarianovwe’s appeal to disqualify Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori based on allegations of providing false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about his academic qualifications and date of birth has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Friday that Aghwarianovwe’s appeal lacked merit as he failed to demonstrate that the decisions of the lower courts were perverse.
The lead judgement, authored by Justice Adamu Jauro and read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal, Asaba division, delivered on May 5, 2023. The Court of Appeal had upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, Asaba division, which ruled that Aghwarianovwe failed to prove his case and that Oborevwori was qualified to contest the recent governorship election in Delta State.
Justice Jauro stated that none of the grounds of the appeal indicated that the findings of the lower courts were perverse. He further noted that the appeal had no chance of success and lacked merit.
Consequently, the Supreme Court affirmed the earlier decisions of the two lower courts. Justice Jauro also awarded a cost of six million naira against the appellant, to be paid to the first and second respondents, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Oborevwori, at three million naira each.
All members of the panel, including Justices Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Tijani Abubakar, and Agim, concurred with the lead judgement.
