An aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the House of Representatives seat for Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State, Engr. Bashir Abubakar, has accused member of the House, Abubakar Babazango of allegedly forging the result of the electoral committee that conducted the May 21 primary elections of the party in Adamawa state.

 

According to court documents filed at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Abubakar said he won the said primary election and declared winner by the seven-member electoral committee of the ADC in Adamawa headed by Dr. Nichola Mseliza, having scored the lawful majority votes cast of 33, 931 to beat Babazango who got 4, 359 votes.

 

A Certified True Copy (CTC) of the electoral committee’s report dated May 29, 2027 sent to the national chairman of the party with Abubakar as winner was sworn to by Dr. Mseliza at the registry of the court on July 27, 2027.

 

But, in the alleged forged result sheet tendered and marked as exhibit 53A(vi) by the court, Babazango was alloted 6, 431 votes and Abubakar allotted 506 votes.

 

In the said result sheet, Babazango was declared duly elected and winner of the House of Representatives election for Yola North/Yola South/Girei federal constituency of Adamawa state in contrast to the result sheet tendered by the chairman of the electoral committee set up by the party to conduct the said election.

 

Mseliza, in an affidavit he personally deposed to said, the documents exhibited by Babazango in his counter affidavit are false and not known to him as the chairman of the House of Representatives electoral committee of the ADC in Adamawa state.

 

He noted in the affidavit that, the plaintiff won the Yola North/Yola South/Girei federal constituency ADC primary election and was declared winner of the election and not the 3rd respondent (Babazango).

 

“That, I never declare the 3rd respondent winner of the Yola North/Yola South/Girei federal constituency and never forwarded his name in my report to the first and second respondents, ADC and INEC respectively.

 

“That paragraphs 12 and 13 of the 3rd respondent’s counter affidavit is false and does not represent the true state of facts and meant to mislead the court”, he said.

 

Meanwhile, Abubakar who is alleging that Babazango forged the result of the committee and tendered same as evidence before the court has filed a suit seeking an order compelling the party to recognize him as its duly nominated candidate for the 2027 general election.

 

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1166/2026, Abubakar joined the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Mr. Abubakar Babazango as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.

 

The plaintiff is asking the court to declare him the lawful winner of the party’s primary election conducted on May 21, 2026, for the Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency, alleging that his name was unlawfully substituted with that of Babazango despite emerging victorious in the exercise.

 

Abubakar contended that he secured the highest number of lawful votes cast during the primary election and was duly declared the winner in accordance with the ADC Constitution.

 

He argued that any substitution of his name contravenes the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2026, the INEC Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2026, and the constitution of the ADC.

 

According to the suit, the ADC has no lawful candidate for the constituency other than him, insisting that any attempt by the party to field Babazango in the forthcoming election would be invalid and liable to be nullified by the court.

 

Among the reliefs sought, Abubakar prayed the court to declare him the validly nominated ADC candidate for the House of Representatives election, hold that Babazango was not lawfully nominated, and restrain the party from presenting him as its candidate.

 

He also sought a perpetual injunction preventing the ADC from recognizing or presenting Babazango as its candidate for the constituency, as well as an order directing INEC to accept his name as the validly nominated candidate of the party.

 

In addition, the plaintiff asked the court to award him N25 million as the cost of litigation against the ADC and INEC.

 

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Abubakar stated that he contested the primary election alongside six other aspirants and polled 33,931 votes to emerge winner.

 

He maintained that the election was conducted without any irregularity and that the party’s electoral committee submitted a report confirming his victory and nomination as the ADC flag bearer for the constituency.

 

The plaintiff further told the court that he petitioned the national leadership of the ADC twice over the alleged unlawful substitution of his name but received no response, prompting him to seek judicial intervention.

 

However, Babazango has challenged the competence of the suit through a preliminary objection.

 

He argued that the action was incompetent because it was commenced against the wrong parties and that the originating summons was not properly endorsed.

 

Babazango also contended that the suit was statute-barred, having been filed outside the mandatory 14-day period prescribed for pre-election matters, calculated from May 21, 2026, when the cause of action allegedly arose.

 

The trial judge, Justice Chigozie Onah, adjourned the matter till May 24 for mention.