Kogi: Appeal Court returns Wada as PDP guber candidate

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja Tuesday returned Musa Wada as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of the November 16, 2019 gubernatorial election held in Kogi State.

Delivering judgment in the suit between Musa Wada and Abubakar Mohammed Ibrahim Idris and others, the court held that “it is crooked colt of discretion for a court to raise an issue suo motu (raising issues that were not raised by any of the parties in the litigation) and determine same without hearing parties.”

The three-man panel of Justices led by Justice Ibrahim Muhammad Saulawa and comprising Justices Joseph E. Ekanen and Yasir Nimpar also set aside every order made by the trial court to the effect that there was no primary election by PDP in the state and that the appellant was not a candidate in the election.

“Every order made by the trial court that there was no primary election and that the appellant was not a candidate in the election is hereby set aside,” the court held.

Abubakar Idris, also of the PDP had on September 27, 2019, approached Kogi State High Court to challenge the outcome of the primary election conducted on September 3 and 4, 2019 in the state in which Musa Wada won, on the ground that he, Abubakar Idris won the primary instead.

The trial court presiding Judge, Justice R O Olorunfemi, dismissed the claim and held that he did not substantiate his claim.

The trial judge proceeded to hold that the PDP did not have a candidate in the last election in Kogi State.

Aggrieved by the decision of the court, Wada filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal through his lawyer, Jibrin S. Okutepa (SAN), challenging the judgment on the ground that the trial judge did not have jurisprudence to grant reliefs not sought before him.

The court, however, allowed the appeal which sought to prove that PDP presented a candidate in the last election in the state in the person of Wada.