APC, SDP seek leave to appeal judgment on polls result transmission
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Lagos State have applied for leave to appeal the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should electronically transmit the results of tomorrow’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Justice P. O. Lifu had given the order mandating INEC to electronically or digitally transmit election results, following the suit brought before the court by Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
In the suit between the appellants – SDP (and its three chieftains; Olufemi Olaniyi, Christopher Janet and Olatunji Ganiyu) and LP (Rhodes-Vivour and 18 others), the appellants sought an order setting aside the decision of the Federal High Court, Lagos, contained in the ruling delivered by Justice Lifu in suit No: FHC/L/CS/470/ 2023, an order allowing the appeal against the decision of the court as contained in the ruling of Justice Lifu, an order dismissing the originating summons for lacking in merit and incompetent and such further order (s) as the court may deem appropriate in the circumstances of the appeal.
Similarly, in its suit filed before the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, APC is seeking to appeal the same judgment as an interested party.
In the suit, the APC is seeking an order granting leave to the applicant to appeal as an interested party against the final decision of the Federal High Court, delivered by Justice Lifu, among others.
An order granting a departure from the rules of this court, by permitting and deeming the separate filing of the Notice of Appeal (in terms of the proposed notice and grounds) filed at the Registry of the Appeal Court, rather than the Registry of the court below, as properly filed and served;
An order of the court granting a departure of rules of this court regulating the filing of Briefs of Argument and setting the appeal down for hearing on oral argument alone;
A constitutional order of this court staying the execution of the judgment by Justice Lifu, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal
And any order the court may deem fit.
