From Joseph Amedu,  Lokoja

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kogi State has adjourned pending the completion of inspection of election materials by the Social Democratic Party.

At the resumed hearing, the SDP said the INEC was cooperating with the inspection of materials as granted by the order of the Tribunal, but sought for more time.

Recall that the Tribunal had ordered INEC to issue certified copies of electoral materials on the November 11 off-cycle election in the state to the SDP within 48 hours.

It also ordered INEC to allow SDP’s forensic experts to examine some electoral materials.

The materials include Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and result sheets for Adavi, Okene, Okehi, Ogori-Magongo, Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Kogi and Bassa Local Government Areas.

The tribunal ruled on Saturday in Lokoja that the SDP requested the materials to prove its case in the petition it filed against the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the election.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu gave the order following two ex-parte motions filed on Nov. 19 by the SDP and by its governorship candidate, Alhaji Muritala Yakubu-Ajaka.

Justice Birnin-Kudu at the resumed hearing adjourned pending when the inspection of materials would have been completed.

Lead counsel to the petitioners, Mr John Adele (SAN), had earlier told the court that efforts to obtain certified copies of materials used in the six local government areas from INEC had been fruitful, except for some hitch, leading to delay in meeting with the 48hours.

The SDP and Muritala Yakubu are challenging the victory of APC and its candidate, Alhaji Usman Ododo at the election petition tribunal.

Usman Ododo won the election with 446,237 votes, while his closest rival, Yakubu-Ajaka got 259,052 votes. 

A 30-year-old salesman, Thomas Daniel, on Tuesday appeared before a Kaduna Magistrates’ Court for allegedly diverting N340, 400 proceeds from sales of 74 bags of cement to his own personal use.
The defendant, who lives at Maraba Rido Kaduna, is facing a charge of stealing.
The prosecutor, Insp.

Chidi Leo, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on Nov. 20 at Sabo Tasha Kaduna.
He said the defendant who was the salesman for the complainant, Godwin Moses, sold 74 bags of cement and refused to remit the proceeds to his employer.
He said that the defendant converted the money to personal use.
Leo said the offences contravened Section 217 of the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, granted him bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
Emmanuel said that the sureties must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction, and adjourned the case until Dec. 20, for hearing.(NAN)

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked Suleiman Wanchiko of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of Bida I (North) State Constituency election in Niger and declared Bako Kasim of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the poll.

The three-member panel, while delivering the judgment through Justice Bature Isa-Gafai, held Wanchiko’s appeal was unmeritorious.

The appellate court agreed with Kasim’s counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, that Wanchiko, having presented a forged testimonial to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ought to be disqualified from contesting the election.

Reports says that INEC had declared Wanchiko the winner of the Bida I (North) Constituency poll for the Niger State House of Assembly election conducted on March 18.

The electoral umpire had declared Wanchiko as the winner with 12, 062 votes as against 11, 820 votes scored by Kasim.

Dissatisfied with the INEC’s declaration, Kasim and APC, through their Counsel, Mr Usman, approached the state’s election petition tribunal via petition number: EPT/NG/SHA/11/2023 between Bako Kasim and another Vs. Suleiman Muhammad Wanchiko and another.

Kasim filed the petition on the grounds that Wanchiko was not qualified to contest in the election in that he submitted forged testimonial to INEC and that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.

At the end of trial, the tribunal found merit in the petitioners’ arguments and disqualified Wanchiko and ordered a re-run without him.

Not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, Wanchiko, through his counsel, Aliyu Lemu, SAN, approached the  Court of Appeal, praying the court to set aside the decision of the tribunal.

But Kasim’s lawyer urged the court to dismiss the appeal and return his client as the winner of the election.

The appellate court upheld Usman’s argument that Wanchiko, having been disqualified, the proper order was to return Kasim as the winner of the poll and directed INEC to issue him a Certificate of Return.(NAN)