Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed an appeal by former Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. David Edevbie, challenging the nomination of Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 governorship election in Delta State.
The apex court dismissed the appeal for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
Edevbie had approached the apex court to overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal which sacked him as candidate of the PDP.
Recall that Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court Abuja had on July 7, 2022, sacked Oborevwori as candidate of the PDP having found him guilty of alleged forgery of his academic certificates and perjury.
Justice Taiwo then went ahead to order the PDP to submit the name of Edevbie as candidate of the party in the 2023 governorship poll.
However, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on August 29, set aside the judgment of Justice Taiwo.
The three-man panel led by Justice Peter Ige had held that the lower court erred in law in reaching the conclusion that Oborevwori was not qualified to participate in the governorship primary election of the PDP on account of forgery and perjury.
In the unanimous judgment, the three-man panel agreed with the appellant that the suit filed by David Edevbie was wrongly initiated, because allegations of criminal offences must be proven beyond affidavit evidence.
The panel noted that cases involving criminal allegations ought not to have commenced by an Originating Summons as in the instant case.
The court held that “this case cannot be resolved without recourse to oral evidence,” because the issue of forgery and falsehood and others raised by the plaintiff against the 1st respondent “is deeply rooted in criminality.”
The panel stressed that such criminal cases must be proven beyond reasonable doubt with the calling of relevant witnesses and not by mere affidavit evidence.
The court held that failure of Edevbie to call relevant witnesses was fatal to the case and the trial court erred in law when he found merit in the suit and granted the reliefs sought.
The appellate court subsequently set aside the decision of Justice Taiwo and ordered the return of Oborevwori as candidate of the PDP in the 2023 guber poll.
Dissatisfied, Edevbie in a 23 grounds of appeal asked the apex court to overturn the judgment of the appellate court and restore the judgment of Justice Taiwo which declared him as candidate of the PDP.
His lawyer, Mr. Ejembi Eko, SAN, in grounds 3 of the appeal, claimed that the appellate court erred in law when they held that his suit “at the trial court was not cognisable as an Originating Summons action.”
The appellant also disagreed with the ruling of the lower court that his case “had not crystalised and was premature” when it was filed. He argued that as an aspirant the law stipulated that any complaint he had relating and arising from participating in a party’s primary must be ventilated within 14 days, adding that the cause of action of his case accrued within the 14 days allowed by Section 285 (14) of the Constitution.
Delivering judgment in the appeal, yesterday, the apex court led by Justice Amina Augie, agreed with the appellate court that Edevbie’s case was premature and that his failure to prove his allegations of forgery and falsehood beyond reasonable doubt was fatal to the case.
According to Justice Tijana Abubakar, who read the lead judgment, the appellant ought to have waited for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to have published the name of Oborevwori before commencing the case.
The apex court in addition held that for the case of the appellant to be valid, the said affidavit and documents containing the alleged forgery and falsehood must be obtained from INEC.
The Supreme Court also stated that the lower court was in order when it held that the case of the appellant ought not to have commenced by Originating Summons because criminal allegations as in the instant case cannot be resolved without the calling of relevant witnesses to prove the case.
“I find no merit in this appeal and it is hereby dismissed. The judgment of the Court of Appeal which set aside the decision of the trial court recognising the appellant as candidate is hereby affirmed.
According to the appellate court, Edevbie would have called the institutions he claimed their certificates were forged to prove his allegations, adding that the forged certificates and other documents must be presented before the court to substantiate the allegations.
Justice Ige further stated that it is not enough to prove that the certificates and other documents were but the plaintiff must prove that it was the defendant himself who forged the said certificates and other documents.
The apex court on another issue held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place because there was no reasonable cause of action at the time it was filed.
