Key court cases involving the Bayelsa State government — tracking wins, losses, and critically, whether court orders are actually complied with.
2
Cases tracked
1
Govt lost
1
Govt won
0
Settled
Govt Won
What the case is about
Runner-up Ebitimi Amgbare challenged Sylva's victory in the 14 April 2007 governorship election; the state tribunal had upheld Sylva's win, but Amgbare appealed further.
Ruling & compliance
A five-justice Court of Appeal panel in Port Harcourt unanimously nullified Sylva's election on 15 April 2008 and ordered the Assembly Speaker sworn in as Acting Governor pending a fresh election within 90 days; Sylva won the rerun held on 24 May 2008 with roughly 588,000 of about 598,000 votes cast and was sworn in again shortly after.
Govt Lost
What the case is about
A dispute over the correct calculation of Sylva's tenure, arising from the 2008 rerun and re-inauguration, reached the Supreme Court.
Ruling & compliance
The Supreme Court ruled on 27 January 2012 that Sylva's tenure had effectively expired, ending his time in office ahead of schedule; an acting governor oversaw the state until Seriake Dickson won the resulting election in February 2012.