Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lafia, yesterday, sacked Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared Dr David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the majority votes in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
The three-man election tribunal chaired by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, in its four-hour judgment, declared Ombugadu the rightful winner of the election and not Sule, who was earlier declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justices Chiemelie Onaga and Ezekiel Ajayi (chairman) held that while the petitioners presented valid subpoenaed evidence such as the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to prove their allegation of over-voting, the respondents only provided photocopies of results as evidence.
The panel held that the decision of the two judges was based on merits of the cases argued, which is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
However, a dissenting judgment by Justice Ibrahim Mashi, alleged that Ombugadu and the PDP did not prove that they won the election. He, therefore, ruled that the petitioners’ prayers be dismissed.
BUT in Adamawa State, the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Yola declared Governor Ahmadu Fintiri as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship poll conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The governorship candidate of Social Democratic party (SDP), Dr Umar Ardo, is seeking the nullification of the poll, alleging corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act by INEC.
While delivering judgment, yesterday, the panel of three justices headed by Justice Theodora Uloho dismissed the petition on the grounds that it lacked merits.
Uloho, in her 51-page lead judgment that lasted two hours forty-eight minutes, described Ardo’s petition as a skeleton without flesh.
Citing Section 4(1)d of the 2022 Electoral Act, the panel pointed out that the petitioner failed woefully to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The tribunal said the petitioner was generic and speculative, pointing out that there was no document or documents attached to the petition to support the claims.
Justice Uloho said the petitioner lumped together the claims of corrupt practices and non-compliance, without substantiating who committed what.
According to the panel, the petitioner did not submit any document or oral witness to prove that the election was marred with crisis, corrupt practices and non-compliance.
Citing Section 137 of the Electoral Act 2022, the tribunal stated that the burden of proof is solely on the shoulders of the petitioner.
It also pointed out that the petitioner failed to substantiate who committed the corrupt practices and non-compliance, noting that no witness list or particulars of evidences were attached to the petition, which, according to the provisions of the Electoral Act, rendered the petition impotent.
The tribunal awarded N800,000 damages to the four respondents in the case.
However, it is not yet celebrations time, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate are still in court.
