Supreme Court Reserves Judgment On Appeal Seeking To Nullify Kaduna Governor’s Election

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment in the appeal seeking to nullify the election of Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State.

A five-member panel of Justices of the apex court, led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, reserved judgment to a date that would be communicated to parties after they adopted all their briefs filed in the matter.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal had, in a unanimous judgement delivered November, last year, dismissed a five-ground appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mohammed Ashiru Isa, in the March 18, governorship election in the state.

During the hearing of the appeal on Thursday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) asked the Supreme Court to ignore the appeal filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate.

In separate preliminary objections against hearing of the appeal, INEC and the APC, through their lawyers, Abdullahi Aliyu (SAN) and Mohammed Sani Katu (SAN) respectively, insisted that the petition by the PDP and Isa is incompetent and worthless to be considered for adjudication.

The two respondents drew the attention of the apex court to the findings by the Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal to the effect that the petition was not filed in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The electoral body and the APC maintained, among other issues, that records established that the petitioners acted in breach of Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2022, when they prematurely applied to the Tribunal for the issuance of a pre-hearing notice.

They explained that the law provided that such an application must be filed seven days after the close of pleadings by the parties and added that, the law is that a case must be initiated by due process of the law.

They subsequently asked the Supreme Court to decline any request to attach probative value to the appeal and to either strike it out or dismiss it in its entirety.

In the main appeal, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) representing governor Uba Sani asked the apex court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit and substance.

Meanwhile, the apex court will on Friday deliver judgment in the dispute over the last governorship election in Gombe state.

The governorship candidate of the PDP, Jibrin Barde and the party in their appeal, seeking to void the election of Governor Muhammad Yahaya of the APC.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who led a five-member panel of the apex court, announced the date for judgment after lawyers to parties in the matter adopted their briefs.

Yahaya was re-elected for the second and final term as governor of the state at the 18 March governorship election.

INEC declared Yahaya as the winner of the contest having polled 342,821 votes to beat his closest opponent, Jibrin Barde who garnered 233,131 votes.

Dissatisfied with the election outcome, Barde and the PDP, in a joint petition filed at the Gombe State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, said Yahaya was not re-elected by majority of valid votes cast in the election.

The petitioners alleged widespread electoral malpractices in nine of the state’s 11 local government areas and alleged cases of ballot box stuffing and thumbprinting in the nine council areas.

But, the Tribunal held in its judgment that Barde failed to prove the allegations of electoral fraud against Yahaya and the APC.

Determined to overturn the governor’s victory, Barde approached the Court of Appeal, urging it to nullify Yahaya’s victory, but, the Court of Appeal, in its judgement affirmed Yahaya’s victory and resolved all the issues in favour of the respondent and against the appellant.

The Supreme Court also on Thursday, dismissed the appeal filed by the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nafiu Bala seeking the nullification of Governor Yahaya’s election after his lawyer, Herbert Nwoye withdrew it upon being told that his appeal was a mere waste of the court’s time.

Following a no objection to the request for the withdrawal of the appeal by the appellants, the Supreme Court consequently dismissed the appeal.