On Wednesday, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by the Dan Orbih faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State. The five-member panel determined that the appeal, submitted by Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, was incompetent because it was based on issues that did not arise from the judgment of the appellate court. The appellants sought to have the court reverse the lower court’s judgment, arguing that it had erred in law by failing to declare them as the valid candidates of the PDP for the elections.
The court, however, found the appeal to be faulty. It stated, “Any ground of appeal that does not challenge issues raised at the lower court is incompetent. I enter judgment in favor of the respondents.” According to the judgment, an appeal must be grounded in issues contested at the lower court to qualify for a review. Consequently, Justice Centus Nweze delivered the judgment, dismissing the appeal on the basis of incompetence.
Prior to this ruling, both factions had separately appealed the judgments of the trial courts that were entered against them. Each party had requested the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish their names as the duly elected candidates of the Edo State PDP for the 2023 general election. Displeased with the lower court’s judgment, the Orbih faction escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, but the court ruled against them on Wednesday.
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