Kogi West: Melaye Appeals Judgment

The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, has approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal asking it to set aside the judgment of the Kogi state National and state Houses of Assembly election Tribunal that nullified his election as the senator representing the senatorial district.

Dino who based his appeal on 23 grounds, disagreed on the decision of the Tribunal. According to a notice of appeal filed by his lawyer, the law firm of Ricky Tarfa (SAN), Senator Smart Adeyemi, All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were listed as as respondents.

Some of the grounds of appeal include whether the person sued at the Tribunal being Senator Dino Melaye is the same as the person who contested the poll and declared the winner of the election as contained in Form CF001 – Melaye Daniel Dino.

“The provision of the law is that the name as used in Form CF001 is the only valid name that can be used to challenge the election of the Appellant.

“The principle of equity accepted and applied by the majority members of the Tribunal cannot override the provisions of the law in respect of the petition.

“The judgement of the Tribunal was perverse and against the weight of evidence before it,” the Notice of Appeal said among several other issues of law raised.

The Tribunal had on August 23, 2019 nullified the victory of Melaye at the February 23 National Assembly election and ordered for a rerun after Adeyemi filed a petition challenging the outcome of the poll.