The nullification comes after a petition filed by Johnson Adejobi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) declaration of Awoyeye as the duly elected candidate in the March 18 election.
Adejobi's petition centred on the alleged failure of INEC to apply the principle of the margin of lead when declaring the winner of the election. Following the tribunal's decision, Mr Awoyeye has been removed from office, and INEC has been instructed to organise fresh elections in 26 polling units within the constituency.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by the three-member tribunal, led by Justice V. Eboreime, it was ruled that Johnson Adejobi had successfully demonstrated that INEC failed to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act of 2022. The tribunal also questioned the credibility of the manual used for the election that declared Mr Awoyeye as the winner.
Both INEC's counsel, Vilba Kintai, and Nurudeen Kareem, who represented Mr. Awoyeye, have stated their intentions to appeal against the tribunal's verdict.