ABUJA/Nigeria: In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court has delivered a decisive verdict on Thursday, dismissing an appeal brought before it by Chief Kenneth Gbagi against Delta State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori.
The apex court deemed the appeal a “waste of time,” a “mere academic exercise,” and lacking any “utilitarian value.”
Gbagi, who had contested the governorship candidacy of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), initiated the appeal in response to the decisions of the Election Petition Tribunal and Court of Appeal, which refused to admit fresh evidence that was not included in his initial trial. He had claimed to have uncovered new evidence to support his petition, leading to an application to reopen his case during the final written address adoption date at the Governorship Election Tribunal in Asaba.
The Tribunal, however, rejected Gbagi’s application, citing reasons such as incompetency, belated submission, and the document’s absence from his initial petition. Subsequently, the Tribunal concluded the hearing and found that Gbagi’s assertion of victory in the election lacked merit. Furthermore, the Tribunal dismissed Gbagi’s claim that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was ineligible to contest the election.
Undeterred by the Tribunal’s ruling, Gbagi proceeded to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision to not reopen his case. The Court of Appeal upheld the Tribunal’s refusal, further escalating the legal battle.
Not willing to concede defeat, Gbagi escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, contesting the Court of Appeal’s judgment regarding the reopening of his case. However, the apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice John Inyang Okoro, ruled against Gbagi’s appeal. The court declared the appeal a “complete waste of time,” “spent,” “academic,” and devoid of usefulness.
The Supreme Court emphasized that the 180-day window for hearing the Petition had already expired and pointed out the non-existence of the Tribunal, which had been dissolved. This made any further appeal futile. Realizing the futility of his endeavor, Gbagi’s lead counsel, Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, was left with no choice but to withdraw the appeal, particularly after the evident chastisement and hint of the justices that the appeal was academically pointless and lacked merit.
