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JUDICIARY

Kaduna Gov Election Tribunal Concludes Sitting, Reserves Judgment

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The Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has adjourned sitting on Monday after counsel adopted their final written addresses and replies to points of law.

Justice Ibrahim M. Bako, Chairman of the three-member Tribunal, said that a date would be reserved for judgement and all parties will be notified through their counsel.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Governorship candidate, Alhaji Isah Ashiru had petitioned the March  9 poll in which  Gov.

Nasiru El-Rufai was returned as duly elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Petitioners in their final written address on Monday, asked the  Tribunal to cancel a total 515, 951 votes which it contended were unlawfully added to the total votes cast during the March 9 poll.
The petitioners had called 135 witnesses out of the 685 they assembled to prove massive rigging,  ballot stuffing and other irregularities during the poll as contained in their petition.The petitioners alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had added 391,741 votes to Nasiru El-Rufai of APC and a total of 124, 210 unlawful votes to the PDP through wrong or double entry on the result sheets.The PDP and its candidate also contended that declaring El-Rufai winner by INEC was illegal as he did not score majority of lawful votes.The PDP through its legal team led Emmanuel C. Ukala (SAN), said  deducting  391,741 votes from 1,045,427 scored by El-Rufai and 124,210 from Ashiru’s 814, 168 votes will give victory to PDP and Ashiru, its candidate in the poll.The counsel further argued that after the deduction of the alleged unlawful votes, Ashiru will be left with 689,958 lawful votes, while El-Rufai will have 653,686 votes.In his submission, Ukala  argued that all parties to the petition are bound to argue their cases on the basis of whether or not the petitioners had assembled credible evidence to sustain their petition, as formulated by the tribunal.According to him, “only the 2nd respondent premised his argument on the issues formulated by this honorable tribunal. The 1st  and 3rd respondents went on their own forays.“It is therefore our submission that the argument of the 1st and 3rd respondents should go to ‘no issue’, having not addressed the issue which was binding to all parties, “ Ukala argued.The petitioners counsel further said that based on the issues formulated by the tribunal, the issue has been narrowed down to the credibility of evidence.“Based on this simplification of the issue, it is our humble submission that when the evidence led by both sides are placed on the imaginary scales of justice, what is obvious is that the weight of evidence of the petitioners will overwhelmingly weigh in favor of the petitioners as against the respondents, “ he said.“First, the petitioners called 135 witnesses. All respondents put together, 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents,  called a total of five witnesses.“What is obvious is that there were so many areas covered by the petitioners that were not addressed by the respondents.“ Ukala further pointed out that the quality of the petitioners’ evidence was more qualitative than that of the respondents with polling unit agents who actually saw what happened on the election day and testified.However, in its final written address and reply to points raised by the petitioners, Counsel to APC, Ibrahim Bawa (SAN) said: “our final written address before the tribunal is that the petitioners have not been able to establish their claim before the court.“There are certain allegations that were made which were criminal.“The petitioners also complain that certain votes were illegally recorded for  the 2nd and 3rd respondents, but unfortunately no evidence were made to prove those points.“So, we urge the Tribunal to dismiss the petition as  the petitioners have failed to live up to the standard expected of them in proving their petition.”Similarly,  Abdulhakeem  Mustapha, counsel to El-Rufai, the 2nd respondent in the petition, asked the tribunal “to invoke its majestic powers to dismiss the petition as lacking in merit and to confirm that the 2nd respondent, Malam Nasiru El Rufai as duly elected as governor of Kaduna State on the March 9 election. “Mustapha in an interview with newsmen also said: “we have been able to tell the court that all the witnesses called by the petitioners failed woefully to prove the ingredient of the fact relied upon in their petition.“The onus is on the petitioners to come with credible evidence and all the testimonies of the witnesses produced by the petitioners were demolished under cross examination.“ There is nothing that the court will see to be persuaded to give judgment in their favor, we have been able to show with the witnesses we called that the election was conducted in conformity with the provision of the electoral Act.“We are very satisfied with the proceedings and we are very sure that justice will be done and sure that Malam Nasiru  El-Rufai was duly elected by the people of Kaduna State. “On behalf of the 2nd respondent, the final written address which was dated 2nd August, was filed on 3rd August, 2019, while the 2nd respondent filed a reply on fact of law on August 16,” Mustapha said.Meanwhile, Counsel to the 1st respondent, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),  Aliyu Umar (SAN) urged the tribunal to “dismiss the petition and confirm El Rufai as duly elected Governor of Kaduna State.“Umar drew the attention of the tribunal to the fact that the petitioners had just served him with a list of additional authorities on the day of sitting.He also told newsmen shortly after the sitting that:  “We told the tribunal to take witnesses of the petitioners one by one and urged the tribunal to hold that their evidence was different from what they alleged in their petition.“And their witnesses have all confirmed during cross examination that no INEC officials connived with any other person.“The petitioners only called 135 of the 685 witnesses the petitioners said they would call, that is short of the number they were supposed to call to prove their case.“They are to win their case by the evidence presented not by our witnesses,“Umar said.At the end of the sitting, Justice Bako, thanked counsel to all the parties, party members and representatives of the media  for their cooperation and publicity through out the hearing.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that  Khadi Adamu Usman and Justice Jude Obiora served as members of the Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.(NAN)

JUDICIARY

CJN  Swear in 23 Federal High Court Judges, Wednesday

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Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Olukayode Ariwoola will swear in the newly appointed 23 Judges of the Federal High Court on Wednesday.

A statement by the Director of Press and Information of the Supreme Court, Dr. Festus Akande on Sunday said, the Judges will be sworn in at 11:00 am at the main courtroom of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The new Judges according to the statement are: Dipeolu Deinde Isaac from Ogun State; Ogundare Kehinde Olayiwola from Ekiti State; Agbaje Olufunmilola Adetutu from Lagos State; Musa Kakaki from Kaduna State; Abdullahi Muhammad Dan-Ige from Sokoto State; and Sharon Tanko Ishaya from Kebbi State.

Others are: Salim Olasupo Ibrahim from Ogun State; Yilwa Hauwa Joseph from Gombe State; Wigwe-Oreh Chituru Joy from Rivers State; Owoeye Alexander Oluseyi from Kogi State; Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa from Benue State; Amina Aliyu Mohammad from Katsina State; Abiodun Jordan Adeyemi from Kwara State; Hauwa Buhari from Federal Capital Territory; and Aishatu Auta Ibrahim from Borno State.

The rest according to the statement are Hussaini Dadan-Garba from Bauchi State; Ibrahim Ahmad Kala from Gombe State; Mashkur Salisu from Zamfara State; Onah Chigozie Sergius from Enugu State; Egbe Raphael Joshua from Bayelsa State; Ariwoola Olukayode Jnr. from Oyo State; Ekerete Udofot Akpan from Akwa Ibom State; and Ogazi Friday Nkemakonam from Ebonyi State.

Akande also said, a valedictory Court session will be held on Tuesday, 10th October, 2023, in honour of the late Justice Chima Centus Nweze at the main courtroom of the Supreme Court at 10:00 am.

As customary, he said, the Chief Justice of Nigeria will preside over the session which will, among other things, feature the presentation of tributes by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chairman of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) and President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in honour of the departed Jurist.

It will be recalled that Justice Nweze died on Saturday, July 29, 2023 in Abuja after a brief illness at the age of 64 years. He was sworn-in as Justice of the Supreme Court on October 29, 2014.

The late Justice of the Supreme Court was born in Obollo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State on 25th September 1958 and attended St. John Cross Seminary, Nsukka from 1972 to 1977.

He gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus in 1979 where he graduated with a Degree in Law in 1983. In the same year, he represented the Law Faculty and, indeed, all Nigerian Law Faculties, at the Philip Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington DC, as the Chief Oraclist.

His Lordship did his NYSC between 1984 and 1985 in Bauchi, after being called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984. He equally had his Doctorate Degree in Law from the same University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.

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Tribunal Sacks PDP Lawmaker In Plateau, Declares APC Candidate Winner

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National  and State Houses of Assembly election Tribunal has upturned the election of Timothy Dantong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and declared Moses Dachum of  All Peoples Congress(APC) winner of the March 18, Riyom state constituency of the Plateau State House of Assembly Election.

The Justice B.M Tukur-led panel held that at the time of the election, PDP had no valid structure to fill in a candidate as the party was still in disobedience to a court order of Justice S P Gang of Plateau State High Court delivered on November 26, 2020.

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Tribunal Declares Kaduna Guber Polls Inconclusive

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From Nicholas Dekera, Kaduna

The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Kaduna, has declared the 2023 governorship election in Kaduna state inconclusive.

The tribunal, during its resumed proceeding on Thursday, in a split decision of a ratio of 2:1, declared the election inconclusive and directed that a supplementary election be held by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within 90 days.

The three-man panel led by Justice Victor Oviawe therefore, ordered a rerun of election in 24 polling units in seven wards of four local governments consisting of 16,300 registered voters.

The verdict was announced via Zoom after the judges shunned the physical hall.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, in the March 18 election, Isah Mohammed Ashiru had filed the petition challenging the declaration of Senator Uba Sani as Governor.

Ashiru  challenged the election of  Sani as the Governor of Kaduna State on the grounds of alleged irregularities and electoral fraud, saying that its Candidate (Isa Mohammed Ashiru) won the election.

In a press statement by Hon Isah Ashiru on Thursday night, titled

“Tribunal Nullifes Uba Sani’s Election” Ashiru said, the tribunal, based on the majority of 2:1 judges upheld the preliminary objection of the respondent to the effect that the application for pre-hearing was done prematurely  before the service of the last set of petitioners’ reply to the 2nd respondent’s reply to the petition was served. 

“However, the law enjoins the tribunal, as a trial court, to proceed to pronounce on the merit of the substantive suit so that in the event the court of appeal finds that the trial tribunal was wrong in its decision on the preliminary objection, it would have the benefit of pronouncing on the decision of the tribunal in the substantive matter. 

“Accordingly, the trial tribunal finds merit in the aspect of the petitioner’s case relative to the margin of win between the two leading candidates. The tribunal by a split decision of 2:1 accordingly, nullified the election of the governor of Kaduna state, ordered that the Certificate of Return be retrieved and fresh elections be conducted in some polling units in 4 LGAs and the outcome thereof be reckoned with before the declaration of the winner of the governorship election in Kaduna state.  

“I want to again thank the people of the state,”Ashiru stated while urging them all to remain  law abiding while we pursue the appeal process. 

“One thing I can assure the good people Kaduna state is that I will pursue this mandate you freely gave me to its logical conclusion and by the grace of God, victory on our side.”

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