The July 12 Grassroot election in Amuwo-Odofin for Ward D didnt end on the day of the poll as a petition was filled and submitted to the tribunal. The petition has been dismissed by the lagos state Local Government Election Petition Tribunaldescribing the challenge as vague, lacking in merit, and unsupported by credible evidence.
The petitioners from the Ward D (Orire) area of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, had asked the tribunal to nullify the election of the 2nd Respondent, who contested under the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, claiming that voting did not take place in 26 polling units and that the respondents failed to secure the majority of lawful votes cast. They argued that the process violated both the Electoral Act (as amended) and the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Law, 2008.
However, counsel to LASIEC, Mr. Adedipupo Mickey Adewetan, described the petition as entirely baseless, saying it relied on hearsay rather than concrete evidence. He highlighted that the petitioners’ witnesses admitted under cross-examination that their statements were based on what party agents had told them — yet those agents never testified before the tribunal.
“Allegations of corrupt practices or non-compliance must be proved by the one who asserts them,” Adewetan argued. He stressed that the petitioners’ witnesses were not polling unit agents and therefore could not legally testify about events at polling stations they did not supervise.
Citing judicial precedents such as Emmanuel v. Umana & Ors (2016) and Ogburu v. Arthur (2016), as well as the presumption of regularity under Section 168 of the Evidence Act, 2011, Adewetan urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition outright. He described the case as frivolous and a waste of judicial time.
The tribunal accepted these arguments and threw out the petition, clearing the way for the declared election results in Ward D, Amuwo-Odofin to stand.