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Supreme court hints that the suit filed by Smart Adeyemi in Kogi State is incompetent
The Supreme Court has on Thursday hinted that the appeal filed by a former Senator who represented Kogi West in the 9th National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi, against the judgement of the two lower courts on the All Progressives Congress’ primary election, which held in Kogi State on April 15, 2023, was incompetent.
Adeyemi had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the primary election of the APC, which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the state’s governorship election slated for November 11. The case was dismissed by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit.
The apex court, while hearing his appeal, on Thursday, told his lawyer, Musibau Adetumbi, SAN, that his client was appealing against concurrent findings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which held that primary elections were held in Kogi State but that he had failed to challenge these concurrent findings or demonstrate that same was perverse.
The court which was presided over by Justice Inyang Okoro stated that by just looking at the brief, Adeyemi’s Appeal was “dead on arrival”, and hinted his Counsel on the need to withdraw the incompetent appeal.
Adeyemi’s Counsel however said he would go ahead to argue the appeal. The appeal was accordingly heard.
Counsel to Ododo, F. O. Ekpa who was led by M. Y. Abdullahi, SAN, while adopting his brief of argument, informed the court that Adeyemi’s appeal was academic considering that the relief sought by him was that fresh primaries be conducted. Counsel argued that the time within which to conduct the primary election as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2022 had expired, hence the court could no longer grant Adeyemi’s prayer.
Having heard the arguments of the Counsel, the Supreme Court therefore adjourned the appeal to 23rd October, 2023 for judgment.
Chief Anthony Adeniyi, SAN, represented the Independent National Electoral Commission, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, represented the All Progressives Congress, while M.Y. Abdullahi, SAN, represented the APC Governorship Candidate, Usman Ododo.
The Court of Appeal had, on August 18, 2023, held that the appeal argued by Adekunle Oladapo Otitoju on behalf of Senator Adeyemi was completely bereft of merit.
In a unanimous judgment of a 3-man panel of Justices of the Court, Adeyemi was said to have failed woefully to establish all grievous criminal allegations made against the conduct of the primary election by APC and its leaders.
Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaib who delivered the lead judgment resolved all the three issues in dispute against Adeyemi.
Justice Shuaib said that the allegations of manipulations and falsifications of the primary election results made by Adeyemi, being criminal in nature, ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
He also dismissed another allegation by the Appellant that he was denied fair hearing by the Appeal Committee of the APC based on his petition against the alleged unlawful conduct of the primary election.
Justice Shuaib said that the issue of denial of fair hearing was not raised in his originating summons at the Federal High Court, hence, could not be raised as a fresh issue at the Court of Appeal.
In the absence of cogent and verifiable evidence on the part of Adeyemi, the Court of Appeal held that his allegations remained mere assertions that could not enjoy any probative value.
The Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on July 12, which had held that Adeyemi did not prove his allegations that Ododo was not lawfully nominated by the APC.
Senator Adeyemi had, therefore, sought an order of the Supreme Court, setting aside the judgments of the lower courts, allowing his appeal and granting all the reliefs sought in his originating summons.
“Since their Lordships made a categorical finding of facts that the Appellant’s case, simpliciter, is that the primary election in issue was not conducted in accordance with the law, the duty to prove the contrary lies with the Respondents who asserted positively that the said primary election was conducted in accordance with the law.
“With profound humility to our noble Lords of the Honourable Court below, their Lordships misapprehended where lies the burden of proof in the case at hand. Hence their Lordships came to a wrong conclusion in law and equity,” he argued.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has discharged former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose of money laundering and theft charges totaling ₦6.9 billion.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, who presided over the case, upheld a no-case submission filed by Fayose’s legal team, ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to establish a prima facie case or link him directly to the alleged offences.
Originally arraigned in 2018 before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, the case was later reassigned to Justice Aneke at the EFCC’s request.
The anti-graft agency had accused Fayose of receiving ₦1.2 billion for his 2014 governorship campaign and accepting $5 million in cash from then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, without passing through a financial institution. He was also alleged to have laundered over ₦1.6 billion through companies such as De Privateer Ltd and Still Earth Ltd to acquire properties.
Fayose and his company, Spotless Investment Ltd, were re-arraigned on 11 counts of money laundering and theft, with the alleged crimes said to have been committed during his time in office, involving funds reportedly traced to the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Defending the former governor, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Kanu Agabi argued that the EFCC failed to substantiate its claims and noted that key figures allegedly involved, including Abiodun Agbele, were not charged.
“The predicate offences on which these charges are based do not hold water. Criminal breach of trust and conspiracy are distinct, and no co-conspirator was charged alongside the defendant,” Agabi stated.
Agreeing with the argument, Justice Aneke ruled in favour of the no-case submission and discharged Fayose.
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JUST IN: Sanwo-Olu Warns Against Attacks on LASTMA Officers, Vows Offenders Will Face Full Force of the Law
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reaffirmed his administration’s zero tolerance for assaults on officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), warning that anyone found guilty will face the full weight of the law.
Represented by Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Sanwo-Olu gave the warning on Tuesday at the Second Lagos Traffic Conference, held in celebration of LASTMA’s 25th anniversary.
The event, themed “Enhancing Traffic Efficiency and Safety on Lagos Roads: Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovations,” marked a key milestone for the agency responsible for managing traffic across the state.
The governor praised the dedication of LASTMA officers who, he said, often operate under dangerous and demanding conditions to maintain road order.
“I want to specially commend the men and women of LASTMA whose unwavering commitment ensures that Lagos keeps moving. Your uniform stands as the thin yellow line between road order and chaos,” he said.
He paid tribute to officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty, calling them heroes whose sacrifices would never be forgotten.
Looking ahead, Sanwo-Olu shared his vision of transforming LASTMA into a technology-driven agency. He revealed plans to invest in AI-powered systems, automated number plate recognition, and drone surveillance to improve traffic flow and incident response across Lagos.
“These innovations will enhance our ability to monitor real-time traffic, ease congestion, and strengthen enforcement,” he said.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has intensified its crackdown on inauthentic activity, announcing the removal of over 10 million fake profiles and 500,000 spam accounts in the first half of 2025.
The move is part of a broader push to combat impersonation, copycat content, and fake engagement on the platform. According to a blog post released Monday, Meta said the effort aims to boost original content and ensure genuine creators get more visibility and credit for their work.
“We’re making progress,” the company said. “In the first half of 2025, we took action on around 500,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour or fake engagement. We also removed about 10 million profiles impersonating large content producers.”
As part of the update, Meta will penalise accounts that repost content without permission or meaningful edits. These penalties include reduced reach in Facebook feeds and loss of access to monetisation tools.
To further support originality, Meta is rolling out tools that will trace duplicated content back to its source. It is also warning users against posting watermarked content from other platforms, saying such behaviour may result in reduced visibility or demonetisation.
New post-level insights are also being added to Facebook’s Professional Dashboard, allowing creators to track post performance and monitor for potential restrictions.
Meanwhile, Google’s YouTube has introduced similar measures, announcing it will no longer allow mass-produced or highly repetitive content to earn ad revenue. While the change caused some initial confusion, YouTube clarified that AI-enhanced storytelling remains monetisable under the new policy.
Both Meta and YouTube say these initiatives are part of broader efforts to maintain content quality and protect creators in an increasingly competitive digital ecosystem.
JUST IN: Court Discharges Ex-Ekiti Governor Fayose of ₦6.9bn Money Laundering Charges
JUST IN: Sanwo-Olu Warns Against Attacks on LASTMA Officers, Vows Offenders Will Face Full Force of the Law
Meta Tightens Content Policies, Removes 10 Million Fake Accounts
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