UPDATE: The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital has voided the election of Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District at the red chamber, Senator Buruji Kashamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
His election result is being challenged by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dapo Abiodun in the last election.
The Tribunal sacked Senator Buruji Kashamu, and Adekoya Adesegun, a member of House of Representatives from Ijebu East /Ijebu North /Ogun waterside, and five other members of the state assembly over non-compliance of electoral law. and ordered a fresh election in the affected areas.
Meanwhile the APC Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District has been thrown out by Tribunal, and the PDP candidate, Senator Attai Aidoko declared winner.
The election of Abdulrahman Abubakar [pictured] of the APC was on Friday declared invalid. But the Lagos State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal upheld the declaration of Femi Gbajabiamila as the winner of the March 28, 2015 House of Representatives election in the Surulere Federal Constituency 1. Gbajabiamila, who is now the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, had been declared winner of the said election by the Independent National Electoral Commission after polling 21, 715 votes.
In Osun state, the Election Petitions Tribunal hearing matters arising from the 2015 general election in Osun State has dismissed the petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Kayode Oduoye, against a member of the House of Representatives from Ifelodun/Boripe/ Odo Otin Federal Constituency, Mr. Yinka Ajayi.
The chairman of the three-man panel, Justice A. G. Kwajaffa, who read the judgment in Osogbo on Friday held that the petitioner failed to prove the allegations of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act before the court.
The election tribunal in the southwestern city of Abeokuta declared the victory of Senator Buruji Kashamu void because of apparent irregularities in more than 100 polling units.
“The election is nullified in line with Section 140 (2) and 140 (3) (of the electoral act)… We hereby order fresh elections in the affected polling units,” tribunal judge Tobi Ebimowei ruled.
Kashamu, elected in March to represent Ogun state in the upper chamber of parliament, was placed under house arrest in May before a planned extradition hearing.
But the Federal High Court in Lagos later ordered agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to leave the property and suspended extradition hearings.
Kashamu was indicted in an Illinois court in 1998 over conspiracy to distribute heroin.
He was arrested in Britain that December but ultimately convinced British authorities that the drug trafficking evidence in fact related to his brother and that US investigators had confused the two men.
A British court approved his release in 2003 and Kashamu returned to Nigeria, where he became a major funder of the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The United States has sought Kashamu’s extradition for two decades and it was not clear if Nigeria’s decision to act was linked to political shifts.
Kashamu has repeatedly denied any involvement in drug smuggling, consistently throwing blame on his deceased brother, whom he reportedly
EARLIER REPORT
The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital will today deliver judgments on twelve petitions pending before it.
The Tribunal had reserved judgments on the 12 petitions since August 3, when all Counsel adopted their written addresses.
One of the cases to be determined is that of the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District at the red chamber, Senator Buruji Kashamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose election result is being challenged by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dapo Abiodun in the last election.
APC is also challenging the result of the House of Representatives election of Ijebu-North/Ijebu-East/Ogun Waterside, which returned Adesegun Adekoya of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as against Biyi Ismail of APC.
Results of ten seats in the Ogun State House of Assembly are also under contention before the three-man Tribunal, headed by Justice Ebiowei Tobi.
Kuhe explained that the Tribunal had prepared accreditation tags for journalists, direct litigants, counsel and “direct participants” who will be allowed into the premises.
It was gathered that judgments would be in three segments, which would likely spread till tomorrow Saturday.
