Segun Sowunmi, the factional PDP candidate for governor in Ogun State, has been charged by a lawyer of purposefully misconstruing a decision made by the Court of Appeal this month.
In order to prevent a crisis in the state, Olufemi Oniyide stated during a news conference on Thursday in Abeokuta that it was critical to correct the record.
“This press briefing would have not been needful if not for the mischief introduced by some interpreters of the stated judgment, especially the appellant,” said Mr Oniyide.
“The malicious interpreters, wrongfully standing in for the court of appeal judges, started introducing their malicious and wrongful interpretation of the judgment, issues that were never even canvassed for when the litigant approached the Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta.”
On August 17, the Court of Appeal in Abuja criticised the Ogun high court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit Mr. Showunmi had brought against Ladi Adebutu, the PDP candidate for governor in the state who had received INEC recognition.
The lower court erred when it refused to hear the case on the grounds of "non-joinder of the party's excos," according to the appellate court.
The former spokesperson for PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Showunmi, stated that the party's exco were prejudiced in favour of Mr. Adebutu before to the gubernatorial primary in response to "his first victory at the Court of Appeal."
Last week, Mr Showunmi’s lawyer, Monday Mawah, alleged that there were attempts to misinterpret the Court of Appeal’s decision against his client.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we want to put it on record that our client, Segun Showunmi, won his case at the Court of Appeal,” Mr Mawah said.
“Mischief makers should desist from misrepresenting the judgment.”
But at his press conference, Mr Oniyide challenged Mr Showunmi to come out with a certified true copy of the judgement and tell the world where the court declared him the winner in the suit.
“What the appellant (Mr Showunmi) stands to gain in putting forward what the court of appeal has not pronounced on or what he himself has not asked from the court, even at the State High Court in Abeokuta, is baffling,” he said.
The lawyer said that pages 10 and 11 of the judgment of the State High Court delivered on May 19 stated the main reason the plaintiff was litigating against the respondents.
According to him, the plaintiff allegedly heard an interview granted by Mr Adebutu in which he allegedly said the PDP exco in the state bought the forms for him to contest the primary.
“This was the sole reason that Otunba Segun Sowunmi went to court and nothing more,” Mr Oniyide continued.
“The alleged radio interview was the sole platform on which the plaintiff stood in bringing the matter before the High Court and his two main demands were stated in the judgment of the court.
“The High Court refused to look into the substance of the matter as it rejected to hear the suit based on three grounds.
“It was on these grounds that the appellant approached the court of appeal and the court gave its judgment on Monday, the 15th day of August, 2022,” Mr Oniyide said.
The lawyer said the main issues were whether the appellant’s complaint before the lower court was a pre-election matter, whether the Federal High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over pre-election matters, assuming the appellant’s complaint is a pre-election, and whether the suit before the lower court is competent for non-joinder of the Ogun state executive of the respondent
“These were the three main grounds or pedestal on which the appellant approached the court of appeal.
“Nowhere in the issues presented for adjudication before the court of appeal by the parties thereto, that is Chief Segun Sowunmi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its National Working Committee, or Hon Oladipupo Adebutu, did any of the parties ask that any of the two aspirants(as they were then) be declared as the candidate of the party.
“None of the parties to the suit at the High Court or the Court of Appeal asked for relief to be declared as the candidate of PDP in the Governorship election coming up in 2023.
“Then, one begins to wonder where Otunba Segun Sowunmi got the relief or declaration they’ve been falsely spreading about in the media that the court of appeal declared him as the Governorship Candidate of PDP in Ogun State.”
Contacted for reaction on Saturday, Mr Showunmi insisted that the court said Mr Adebutu, “has no right to be the candidate of the party.”
“I stand by the court judgment,” he said.
“The judgment is a leeway. I am not a difficult person. Adebutu is not my enemy, nor I am his enemy, but I am fighting on principle. The man who did the press conference was doing a hatchet job.
“The bottom line is that the judgment said you cannot build something on nothing. I do these things to correct the anomalies in the party. I am ready to engage in governorship debate. Let us discuss issues.”