Mistake of Counsel and Judiciary as a Whipping Boy Lillian Okenwa

Clarifies the role of Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour in the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Osun State governorship election

When the news broke on Friday, July 5, 2019 that Nigeria’s Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as governor of Osun State, many concluded that the Supreme Court has mired itself in politics and corruption.

What many do not know is that the Senator Ademola Adeleke v. Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola, Osun State election petition determined by the Supreme Court had nothing to do with who won the election.

Also many do not know that the question of electoral violence, rigging, over voting and all never arose at the apex court and that Hon. Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour did not affirm the election of Oyetola as winner of Osun State governorship election.

It was the opinion of many Nigerians that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) merely paved the way to edge Adeleke out by cancelling 3,498 votes and ordering a rerun in seven polling units when he was already leading in the election.

All that is history now and Governor Oyetola has since been enthroned while the amiable dancing Senator Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is quietly licking his wounds somewhere.

What has not settled is the role of the Supreme Court in all this as Justice Rhodes Vivour who wrote the leading judgment has been described as a corrupt and unfair judge who turns justice on its head.

Essentially, the Supreme Court held that the judgement of the trial tribunal is a nullity because one of the judges that make up the three man panel did not sit on the day the testimonies of respondents’ Witnesses 12 and 13 were taken.

The nagging question is - Did Hon. Justice Obiorah sit on February 2019? Now the Record of Appeal is the only document that gives an indication of what took place in court. The court has a task of taking notice of its contents and resolving issues as in this case as to whether the said judge sat or not.

It turned out that when Oyetola’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanikpekun (SAN) pointed out that Obiorah did not sit on 6th February, 2019, Adeleke’s counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) agreed that it was so.

Dismissing the non-participation of Justice Obiorah in the February 6, 2019 proceedings at the Court of Appeal, Ikpeazu said, “Non-participation of Obiorah J in the proceedings of 6 February, 2019 thereby rendering the proceedings a nullity is a mistaken postulation because the fact that all members of the tribunal or that the Chairman of a tribunal did not sit in on all the proceedings of the Tribunal is neither an issue of lack of jurisdiction nor a matter of nullity of the proceedings.”