CaseLaw
Okunola V. . Ogundiran (1962) CLR 2(a) (SC)
Judgement delivered on February 5th 1962
Brief
Facts
This is an appeal from two election petitions consolidated and heard together in the High Court of the Ibadan Judicial Division in Western Nigeria (Okunola v. Ogundiran, (1961) All N.L.R. 394). The election was to the House of Assembly, Western Region, for Ibadan East Rural II constituency which took place on August 8th 1960. The candidates for the election were Mustafa Hamzat Okunola, D. Ogundiran and Y. Atanda. The last candidate is not involved in the present proceedings. The circumstances which led to the petitions are as follows: The returning officer after counting the votes declared Okunola as duly elected. He announced Ogundiran as having polled 7,402 votes, Okunola 7,464 votes and Atanda 767 votes.
Later Ogundiran protested that the grand totals of votes made in the polling stations were arithmetically wrong. The additions were found to be Ogundiran, 7,702 votes Okunola 7,444 votes and Atanda 767 votes. The Returning Officer thereby declared Ogundiran as elected.
Against this declaration Okunola petitioned, praying the Court to determine against Ogundiran and the Returning Officer that the purported election was void and that he (Okunola) be returned. Later Ogundiran also petitioned praying the Court to declare Okunola not duly elected and that he (Ogundiran) be declared by majority of lawful votes duly returned. The learned judge held that the return of Ogundiran was invalid, and that he was bound by Regulation 104(1) of the Election, Regulation 1960 to declare who was duly elected, since non-compliance on the part of the returning officer did not affect the result of the election. He declared the return of Okunola invalid and dismissed his petition. Dissatisfied, Okunola appealed to the Appeal Court.