The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the September 2018 election in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, challenging the election of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress.

The apex court in a split decision of five to two members of the panel, on Friday, agreed substantially with the Court of Appeal which ruled that a majority judgement delivered at the tribunal was a nullity.

The court said the judge who had read the majority judgement at the tribunal, Peter Obiora, was evidently absent on February 6th 2019, following the documents before the court.

It agreed with the appeal court that the absence of Justice Obiora when a key witness in the petition was heard has rendered the judgment of the trial tribunal a nullity. And that thefailure of Mr Obiora to be present on that day meant that the tribunal lacked the authorities to have given any judgment on the matter.

Justice Bode Rhodes- Vivour who delivered the majority judgment supported by five of the seven-justice of the Apex court panel held that it is settled law that when the rightly constituted panel of a court does not seat the activities carried out by that panel is a nullity.

•Text (excluding headline): Channels TV.