The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by Ikie Aghwarianovwe, which sought the disqualification of Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, on grounds lacking in merit.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court ruled that the appellant failed to provide substantial evidence to support his case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Agim emphasized that the existence of discrepancies in names does not necessarily imply falsification.
The judge further stated that an error in the date of birth on a certificate, without concrete evidence linking it to the respondent, does not amount to falsification.
The court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and ordered Ikie to pay N3 million each as costs to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governor.
Ikie, a governorship aspirant of the PDP, had taken Oborevwori and the PDP to court in October 2022, alleging that the Governor had submitted false documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to qualify for the 2019 House of Assembly election in Delta State.
Initially assigned to the Hon. Justice Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the case was later transferred to Asaba, Delta State. Ikie argued that due to the alleged forged documents, Oborevwori was ineligible to contest the 2023 governorship election.
Oborevwori and the PDP, however, refuted the forgery claims and argued that the suit was time-barred, asserting that documents submitted to INEC in 2018 for the 2019 general election could not be used to disqualify a candidate in 2023.
The trial court upheld the defendants’ objection, citing Ikie’s failure to substantiate the forgery allegations.
Displeased with the decision, Ikie appealed to the Court of Appeal in Abuja. However, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s judgment, ruling in favor of Oborevwori on all the issues presented.
