Governor Douye Diri

On Wednesday, 26 February, the Supreme Court upheld its decision on Bayelsa election which removed David Lyon as Governor-elect and reconfirmed Douye Diri as winner.

When the earlier verdict did not go down well with APC, it applied that the Supreme Court should revisit the issue and reverse itself. So, today being the appointed day, there was tight security around the court premises.

Supreme Court of Nigeria

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Adams Oshiomhole, All Progressives Congress Chairman, supporters of the parties in the dispute and others were in court. 

It was Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who led the team of lawyers for Lyon and his deputy.

All were all ears as the seven-member panel headed by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta pronounced the upholding of the court’s earlier verdict. 

The party, in an application filed by its team of lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), also wants the apex court, according to a newsguru report, to set aside the “wrong” interpretation given to its judgement of February 13, 2020 and its subsequent execution by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

‘The party is, among others, contending that the Supreme Court, in its judgement, misinterpreted the November 12, 2019 judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja which it (the Supreme Court) affirmed.

The APC argued that the Supreme Court acted without jurisdiction and denied the APC fair hearing when it proceeded to disqualify its governorship candidate even though the Federal High Court, in the judgement by Justice Inyang Ekwo, which the apex court affirmed, refused PDP’s prayer to disqualify Lyon.

The party also faulted the interpretation given to the apex court’s judgement by the INEC in deciding to issue the certificate of return to the candidate of the PDP.’

“In this honourable court’s judgement of 13th February, 2020, the court erroneously and inadvertently stated that the trial High Court consequentially disqualified the applicant‘s governorship candidate even though the trial court made no such order and when the trial court indeed refused to grant the express orders sought by the plaintiffs therein for his disqualification,” APC averred.