FELIX NWANERI reports that it is uneasy calm in Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi states as the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter in governorship election petitions, delivers judgements on appeals filed against the governors of the respective states over the outcome of the March 2019 polls
It is judgement day for Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) as the Supreme Court rules on appeals filed against their respective victories in the March 2019 governorship elections today
So far, it has been torrent of judgements from the apex court on the various appeals filed by some governorship candidates, who lost out in the polls that held in 29 out of the 36 states of the country.
As it stands, the Supreme Court has delivered judgements on appeals filed against the outcome of the gubernatorial elections in Rivers, Lagos, Oyo, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Niger, Delta, Taraba, Abia and Imo states.
In Rivers State, it was a hard fought victory for Governor Nyesom Wike, who survived the petitions filed against his election by the governorship candidates of African Action Congress (AAC) and Action Democratic Party (ADP), Biokpomabo Awara and Victor Fingesi, respectively.
Both candidates had first sought the nullification of the poll that produced Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as governor of the oil-rich state at the tribunal. But, in separate judgements on the matter, the tribunal said Wike was duly elected and that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right in announcing him winner of the poll.
The tribunal added that both petitioners failed to prove their claim that the election was marred by violence and irregularities. Justice K. B. Olawoyin, who delivered the judgement on AAC’s petition, declared that Wike won in 19 of the 21 local government areas of the state, where the governorship election held, while the petitioner won in two local government areas.
He further held that Awara failed to provide evidence on his claim violence, adding that what was suspended was the collation of results for six local government areas and not the entire election as the petitioner claimed
The petition by the ADP candidate (Fingesi) was also dismissed as the chairman of the tribunal, Justice K.A. Orjiako, in a unanimous judgement, described it as an adventure to discover the non-existent.
According to the judge, Fingesi lacked the locus standi to file the petition. He held that inconsistent facts contained in the petition filed by the ADP governorship candidate made it incompetent.
The Court of Appeal also struck out the appeal filed by Fingesi for lacking in merit. In a lead judgment, Justice H.N Ogunwimiji declared that the ADP candidate failed to prove his allegation that the election, which was won by Wike was marred by irregularities.
Awara, however had the dismissal of his petition by the tribunal upturned by the Court of Appeal, which also directed all parties to return to the tribunal to hear the matter on its merit.
Wike challenged the judgement of the appellate court at the Supreme Court, which in its judgement, read by Justice Ejembi Eko on October 25 last year, upheld the two appeals by the governor on the grounds that they were meritorious.
It was the same victory story for Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasri el-Rufai at the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the apex court held that the PDP and its candidate, Isa Ashiru, failed to prove issues raised in their appeal.
wGovernor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State also had his election affirmed by the apex court, following its dismissal of the appeal filed against his election on the ground that the petitioner, Adekunle Akinlade, of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), failed to prove his claims of the poll’s non-compliance to the electoral laws.
The court, in a judgement read by Justice Dattijo Mohammed, held that “there is a failure to establish the substance of the alleged noncompliance.”
Another governor, who has scaled the last lap of the legal battle with the opposition, is Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State. He was elected for a second term in office on the platform of the PDP, after defeating his closest rival, Nsima Ekere of All Progressives Congress (APC).
But, Ekere, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), who alleged irregularities during the election, first approached the tribunal to nullify the process. His petition was however dismissed by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal that sat in Uyo for lacking in merit.
As expected, Ekere headed to the Court of Appeal, which also agreed with the tribunal that the appellant could not substantiate his allegation that Emmanuel’s election was marred by non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The Supreme Court, which also agreed with the rulings of the tribunal and Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Dattijo Muhammad, dismissed Ekere’s appeal. Like the lower courts, the apex court also described the appeal as lacking in merit.
It was also victory for Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State at the Supreme Court. The apex court, in affirming his election, held that he was eminently qualified for the March 9, 2019 election.
The court also agreed with Masari that the appellant and candidate of the PDP – Senator Yakubu Lado – did not challenge the former’s basic qualification for the office of governor, apart from mere allegations of submitting false information to INEC for his clearance for the election.
Justice Mary Peter-Odili, who delivered the lead judgement, held that the Lado’s appeal was devoid of merit and substance. She therefore upheld the concurrent judgements of the tribunal and Appeal Court, which upheld the election of Masari as Katsina State governor.
Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, equally had his election affirmed by the Supreme Court as the appeal filed by the candidate of the PDP, David Ombugadu, was thrown out.
Justice Peter-Odili, who read the judgement of the seven-man panel of the apex court, dismissed the appeal due to lack of merit.
Ombugadu, a former member of the House of Representatives, had challenged the outcome of the election on account of alleged unlawful declaration of Sule as winner of the poll.
The PDP candidate also claimed that the conduct of the poll did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2010. He further claimed intimidation of voters and unlawful cancellation of votes during the election.
For Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, it was also victory at the Supreme Court, as the judgements of the two lower courts, which earlier affirmed his election, were upheld. In a unanimous judgement of a seven-man panel headed by Justice Paul Galinje, the apex court held that the appeal filed by the applicants – the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Ifagbemi Awamaridi – failed to comply with the requirements for such applications according to Nigeria’s electoral law.
Justice Galinje further held that the reliefs sought by the appellant do not fall within the ambit of the schedule of the Electoral Act and that prayers sort before the court in an election matter are jurisdictional and must fall within the reliefs allowed by the law in section 138 of the Electoral Act.
It was also victory for Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, at the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of his APC counterpart, Adebayo Adelabu, but refused to reverse the ruling of the tribunal that declared him winner of the election.
But, resolving the controversy over the judgement of the appellate court, the apex court in a unanimous decision, found merit in the appeal filed by Makinde that the majority judgement of the Appeal Court was a miscarriage of justice.
The gale of affirmation of the governors’ victories at the polls by the Supreme Court continued in Ebonyi State, where the election of Governor Dave Umahi of the PDP was affirmed.
Umahi’s victory at the poll was challenged at the tribunal by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), Chief Ajah Agha, on the ground of unlawful exclusion of his name from the ballot paper, but his petition was struck out by the lower courts.
The Supreme Court, which also upheld the decision, in unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Amina Adamu-Augie, held that the testimonies of witnesses called by the appellant were filled with half-truths and contradictions.
It was also victory for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his election was affirmed the Supreme Court, which in a judgement delivered by Justice Centus Nweze, dismissed the appeal by the candidate of the APC, Chief Great Ogboru, on the ground that it had no reason to upturn the concurrent decisions of the lower courts.
“The appeal had been right described at the Court of Appeal as a metaphor of forensic Golgotha. The appellant woefully failed to prove over-voting polling unit by polling unit as required by law. In the circumstance, the appeal is bereft of any iota convincing evidence and it is hereby dismissed. Ifeanyi Okowa is therefore affirmed as governor of Delta State,” Justice Nweze held.
In Abia State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu also had his election affirmed. A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, in a judgement read by Justice Galinje, held that the appellant, Alex Otti’s (All Progressives Grand Alliance – APGA) sole reliance on the smart card readers to prove his claim of alleged over-voting was fatal to his case.
The judge also held that the law is clear that the petitioner must tender the voters’ register and should relate the document to the specific area where the documents were affected. According to him, the card reader print-out tendered by the appellant at the tribunal cannot be inserted into the Constitution or Electoral Act, which stipulates the yardstick for proving over voting.
Niger State was not left out in the affirmation trend as the Supreme Court equally upheld the election of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello.
Bello was the standard bearer of the APC in the election, but his PDP counterpart Umar Nasko, alleged forgery and falsification of documents against him.
But his appeal against the rulings of the tribunal and Court of Appeal failed to fly at the Supreme as Justice Mary Uwani Abaji, who read the judgement of the apex court, held that the appellate court was right in holding that the decision of the tribunal delivered outside the 180 days allowed by law was a nullity.
She, therefore, held that the Supreme Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the appeal and consequently struck it out.
Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, who won the March 9 election on the platform of the PDP, equally triumphed at the Supreme Court as the appeal against his victory at the apex court by his APC counterpart, Sani Danladi, was dismissed.
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, held that counsel to the APC candidate admitted that the party had no candidate in the election and therefore has no locus standi to contest the election of the governor.
The judge added that the appellant conceded the fact and went ahead to suggest that the Supreme Court allow one professor to step into the shoes of the disqualified candidate.
Noting that the law is clear on the issue of disqualification of a candidate, Justice Eko held that the replacement sort by APC did not participate in the election and cannot be accorded such value.
He added that having resolved all the issues against the appellant, the effect of the disqualification is that all the votes cast for that candidate are wasted votes and cannot be scooped from the “dustbin” and given to another.
While it was affirmation of governorship elections results in most of the states by the Supreme Court in line with results declared, it was the contrary in Imo State as the apex court last Tuesday, sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as governor. In his stead, Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC was winner of the state’s governorship election. The latter was sworn-in the next day.
The court in the landmark judgement, which many described as an upset, hinged its decision on the ground that Ihedioha did not score majority of lawful votes in the election.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, delivered the lead judgement of the seven man panel headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad.
Decision day for Sokoto and Kano govs
The disputes over the governorship elections in Rivers, Kaduna, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Katsin, Niger, Delta, Taraba, Abia and Imo states having been laid to rest by the Supreme Court, it is the turn of Sokoto and Kano states today.
The apex court had last Tuesday set January 20 to deliver judgement in the appeal challenging the elections of Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) by Ahmed Aliyu and Abba Yusuf, respectively.
A seven-man panel of justices of the Supreme Court led by the CJN (Muhammad), fixed the date after listening to arguments by the counsels representing the appellants and the respondents in the suit.
Sokoto: Tambuwal vs Aliyu
In Sokoto, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who had his election upheld by the state’s Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, will have his fate decided in the legal battle instituted by the candidate of the APC, Ahmed Aliyu.
The three-man Sokoto State Governorship Election Tribunal that sat in Abuja had earlier dismissed the petition of the APC candidate for lacking in merit. Aliyu had asked the tribunal to upturn the declaration of Tambuwal, who contested the election on the platform of the PDP on the ground that the exercise was marred by irregularities.
But, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Abbas Bawale, in his judgement, said the petitioner failed to establish his claim of the poll’s non-compliance with the Electoral Act and over-voting.
Bawale also said the evidences of the petitioner’s witnesses amounted to hearsay, and as a result, could not prove any of the allegations.
The Court of Appeal also upheld Tambuwal’s election as the three-man panel led by Justice Abbas Abdullahi unanimously dismissed the appeal, Aliyu filed before it. The panel held that the petitioner failed to prove allegations of over-voting and could not prove noncompliance to the Electoral Act.
The Sokoto State governorship election, which held on March 9, 2019, was declared inconclusive following cancellation of 75,403 votes which were higher than the 3,413 margin between the leading candidates. However, Tambuwal won the March 23, 2019 supplementary poll, with a slim margin of 342 votes.
Kano: Ganduje vs Yusuf
It is a similar scenario in Kano State, where Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who fought the political battle of his life to return to power would have his fate decided by the apex court.
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that sat in Kano, had dismissed the petition of the PDP candidate in the election, Abba Yusuf, which challenged the governor’s victory.
Ganduje, who contested the poll on the platform of the APC was declared winner by INEC after a supplementary poll on March 23, but Yusuf filed a petition against the governor, his party and the electoral commission (INEC) to challenge the poll’s outcome.
Whereas the PDP candidate prayed the tribunal to set aside the election on the ground that it was fraught with irregularities, Ganduje insisted that the petitioners failed to prove that the election was rigged. In its judgement, the tribunal, headed by Justice Halima Shamaki, not only upheld Ganduje’s election, but dismissed Yusuf’s petition. The three judges on the tribunal unanimously adopted the judgement. Justice Shamaki said INEC was right both in declaring the March 9 election as inconclusive and in declaring Ganduje the winner of the re-run election.
According to her, declaring an election as inconclusive, where there are lawful reasons, is constitutional. She further held that the petitioners’ claim that electoral rules and guidelines were not complied with in an election they claimed to have won the majority of lawful votes is a paradox. “It’s like trying to mix oil and water,” the judge said. She added that the petitioners failed to prove the allegations of corrupt practices and non-compliance by the respondents beyond reasonable doubt. Her words: “The carbonised copies of documentary evidence tendered by the petitioners were mostly unstamped, some are unsigned, others contained re-written data, hence amounted to documentary hearsay and therefore inadmissible.
“We shall not go into details in the petition. He who asserts must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Respondents are not bound to prove. In civil cases, the burden to prove lies on the plaintiff.
Where the plaintiff fails to prove his case, the case must fail. As such, the petition is hereby dismissed.”
While Yusuf appealed against the judgement at the Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal, his appeal suffered a setback as the court upheld the election of Ganduje as the duly elected governor of Kano State. In a unanimous judgement, a fiveman panel of the appellate court led by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, held that the appeal lacked merit. Bauchi, Benue, Plateau and Adamawa next on line Other governors, who had their elections upheld by the tribunals and Court of Appeals, but must scale the Supreme Court hurdle to remain on their respective seats are Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Simon Lalong (Plateau and Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa). Bauchi: Mohammed vs Abubakar In Bauchi, eyes are on the Supreme Court, which is expected to deliver judgement on the petition against Bala Mohammed, who unseated Mohammed Abubakar as governor of the north eastern state during the general election.
Mohammed, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was the candidate of the PDP in the election, while Abubakar, the then incumbent governor of the state, was the standard bearer of the APC. Abubakar and his party had filed a petition against Mohammed, PDP and INEC to challenge the governor’s victory in the March 23, 2019, supplementary election in the state.
The petitioners alleged widespread irregularities in 336 polling units in Tafawa Balewa, Bogoro and Bauchi local government areas of the state, and urged the tribunal to nullify the election held in polling units in the councils as well as declare Abubakar as winner of the election, having scored the highest valid votes, or in the alternative, order the conduct of a fresh election in the affected areas. However, Mohammed and his party urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that it lacked merit.
The tribunal answered the governor’s prayer as it dismissed the petition on the ground that Mohammed was duly elected with majority votes. Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Salihu Shuaibu, who read the unanimous judgement of the three-man panel, said INEC was right both in declaring the March 9 election as inconclusive and in declaring Mohammed the winner of the re-run election held thereafter. He added that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act by the respondents. The Court of Appeal also affirmed Mohammed’s election. Justice Adumein Otisi, who delivered the lead judgement of the five-man panel of the court, held that the governor won the governorship poll in the state.
He further held that there was no merit in the appeal filed by ex-Governor Abubakar and his party. In Benue, the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that sat in Makurdi, the Benue State capital had earlier ruled that Ortom was duly elected as governor of the state. The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Henry Olusiyi, dismissed the petition by the candidate of the APC, Emmanuel Jime and his party for lack of merit and declared Ortom of the PDP as winner of the poll. Jime had claimed that the election was marred with irregularities, over-voting and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and prayed the tribunal to declare him winner on the ground that he scored majority of lawful votes cast with a margin of 2,224 votes or nullify Ortom’s election and order the conduct of a fresh election in the state.
The APC governorship candidate challenged the results declared in Buruku, Gboko, Guma, Gwer East, Gwer West, Konshisha, Kwande, Logo, Ukum, Ushongo and Vandeikya localgovernment areas of the state. During the hearing, the petitioner called 59 witnesses, who testified that they witnessed irregularities, over voting and other electoral malpractices perpetrated by the PDP and INEC. Jime also tendered over 1,100 electoral documents, including forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E, voters register and card reader reports.
He also tendered 2019 manual and guidelines for electoral officials in 384 Polling Units across 11 local government areas in contention. However, Ortom, INEC and PDP asked the tribunal to strike out the petition in its entirety for lacking in merit.
Justice Olusiyi, who faulted the testimonies of the petitioner’s witnesses, held that none of them substantiated their claims of over voting and other irregularities alleged. The judge further held that the petitioner failed to link the documents tendered in evidence to the petition. According to him, the petitioner dumped the documents on the tribunal. He also averred that until the National Assembly amends the constitution, the voters’ register remains the only document that can ascertain the number of registered voters and not the smart card readers. Ortom also emerged victorious at the Court of Appeal.
In a unanimous judgement, the five-man panel of the court presided by Justice A. O. Belgore dismissed Jime’s appeal for lack of merit and upheld the judgement of the tribunal. In Plateau State, the election of Governor Simon Lalong was affirmed by the tribunal and Court of Appeal, but the candidate of the PDP Senator Jeremiah Useni dragged the governor to the Supreme Court.
Useni had prayed the tribunal to declare him winner of the election on the grounds of disparity in the names supplied by Governor Lalong of the APC in Form CF001 and irregularities during the conduct of the poll. However, Justice Halima Salami, who led the tribunal, held that the petitioner did not adequately prove his case.
She further held that Useni failed to prove his allegation of electoral irregularities bothering on falsifications of results and overvoting. The PDP candidate also failed to prove his claims at the appellate court, which in its judgement, delivered by Justice Halima Saleeman equally dismissed his petition. It is also one lap to go for Governor Fintiri of Adamawa State. Fintiri of the PDP had unseated Jibrila Bindow of the APC, but the latter filed a petition at the tribunal aimed at nullifying the governorship election. But, Justice Adediran Adebara, who read the judgement of the tribunal, dismissed the petition on two grounds, thereby affirming the victory of Governor Fintiri.
The judge held that the petitioner failed to provide substantial evidence to prove allegations of over-voting and non-compliance to the electoral law in the conduct of the election. The Court of Appeal also ruled in favour of Fintiri. The court in its judgement read by Justice A.B. Gumel, dismissed Bindow’s appeal, saying it lacked merit.
Tension in affected states As expected, fear has gripped political office holders and party chieftains in the affected states ahead of today’s judgement Ordinarily, most of the parties to matters, especially the governors would have had no cause to worry as the judgements of the apex court on the gubernatorial election cases were in line with results declared by INEC until the nullification of the Imo State poll. Our correspondents in the respective states gathered at weekend that while it was hope in some camps, apprehension was the situation in others. In Kano, supporters of the opposition PDP in the state are of the view that the judgement of the Supreme Court on the Imo State matter is a great sign that victory is theirs.
However, supporters of the ruling APC said they are not perturbed. It is also anxiety in Sokoto, where personnel of the respective security agencies have conducted a “show of force” exercise ahead of the judgement. This is as over 1,000 conventional and plain cloth officers have been deployed by the state’s Police Command to maintain peace and order. The security deployment has continued to raise fears, especially among supporters of the PDP in the state, who are accusing the Federal Government of plotting something sinister.
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