Comrade Daniel Onjeh Files Appeal Over Election Tribunal’s Decision....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Comrade Daniel Onjeh, the 2023 senatorial candidate for Benue South representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), has filed an appeal with the Appeal Court in Makurdi, challenging the judgment of the National and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal. The tribunal had upheld the victory of Sen. Patrick Abba Moro from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25, 2023 poll.

On September 10, a three-member panel of the National and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Makurdi, led by Hon. Justice ORY Zik-Ikeoha, dismissed Onjeh’s petition, which bore the number EPT/BN/SEN/05/2023, contesting the election outcome.

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The tribunal’s ruling stated that the petitioners failed to substantiate allegations related to Sen. Moro’s qualifications, lawful election victory, and compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, in the conduct of the Senatorial Election in Benue State on February 25, 2023.

In response, Onjeh announced on his social media platforms, including Facebook, that “It’s not over yet,” indicating that his legal team was examining the tribunal’s judgment and would advise on the next steps.

In his appeal filed on Friday at the Court of Appeal, Makurdi Judicial Division, Onjeh, a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and former Chairman of the Governing Board of the Projects Development Institute (PRODA) in Enugu, argued that the tribunal’s decision resulted in a serious miscarriage of justice by upholding Sen. Moro’s victory.

Onjeh has requested the Appeal Court to nullify the declaration and return of Sen. Moro and declare him as the candidate with the lawful majority of votes in the election.

Additionally, Onjeh has urged the Appeal Court to set aside the declaration and return of Sen. Moro, contending that Sen. Moro did not secure a majority of lawful votes because the votes attributed to him were legally wasted. Consequently, he seeks to be declared as the winner of the Benue South Senatorial District election held on February 25, 2023, or alternatively, calls for the annulment of the election due to non-compliance and irregularities, with the order for a re-run election in the Benue South Senatorial District.

In his appeal, Onjeh’s lead counsel, Mr. Adetunji Oso, argued that the tribunal in Makurdi erred in holding that Sen. Moro was eminently qualified to participate in the election, despite the petitioners/appellants’ claim of forged certificates presented to INEC. Oso emphasized that the presentation of forged certificates to INEC disqualifies any election candidate, as mandated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Furthermore, Oso contested the tribunal’s assertion that the petitioners/appellants failed to plead the arithmetical figures contained in the result sheets, specifying the polling units and wards with alleged errors. He argued that the petitioners/appellants did indeed plead the relevant information and provided documentary evidence to support their claims.

Onjeh’s appeal also highlighted that the tribunal erred by concluding that the evidence presented by the petitioners/appellants was weak, porous, and lacking in substance. Onjeh argued that Sen. Moro admitted to unexplained unlawful alterations, mutilation, and cancellations on the polling units pleaded, which were evident on the documentary evidence submitted to the tribunal without challenge.

In his appeal, Onjeh emphasized that all the petitioners/appellants’ witnesses identified the exhibits, linked them to the non-compliance and irregularities, and underwent cross-examination.

Finally, Onjeh pointed out that the same tribunal, in a similar petition before it, had ruled that Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022, applies in favor of a petitioner when non-compliance and irregularities are manifest and obvious, but failed to make similar findings in his case regarding the manifest non-compliance and irregularities present in the petitioners/appellants’ documentary evidence.