The Supreme Court has been urged to reverse the February 10 judgments by the Court of Appeal in Kano voiding the nomination of Mohammed Sani Abacha as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State. The apex court is also urged to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reinstate Abacha as the actual candidate of the PDP in Kano for the next governorship election.
These requests form part of the reliefs being sought in two notices of appeal filed before the Supreme Court by Mohammed Abacha, the eldest surviving son of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. In two notices of appeal filed by his lawyer, Dr. Reuben Atabo (SAN), Abacha argued that the Court of Appeal, Kano erred in law when it set aside an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, Kano which recognised him as the actual candidate of the PDP in the state.
Abacha had claimed, in his suit at the Federal High Court,Kano, marked: FHC/KN/CS/01/2022 that he won the only validly conducted PDP governorship primary in Kano State, but had his name wrongly substituted with that of Sadiq Aminu Wali by some party leaders. In a judgment on December 22, 2023, Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano held in Abacha’s favour and ordered INEC to recognise him as the PDP governorship candidate in Kano State, a decision Wali and the PDP challenged in separate appeals before the Court of Appeal, Kano.
In its judgments on both appeals on February 10 this year, the Court of Appeal set aside the Federal High Court judgment and held among others that Wali was the valid candidate, a decision Abacha has now appealed to the Supreme Court. In his two notices of appeal, containing 31 grounds, Abacha equally wants the Supreme Court to set aside the Court of Appeal’s judgment and affirm that of the Federal High Court.
In the 17-ground notice of appeal relating to the Appeal Court judgment in the appeal by the PDP, Abacha argued that the appellate court erred when it held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to have entertained this suit and that he lacked locus standi to have instituted the case for not being an aspirant. Abacha argued that, as against the wrong position held by the Court of Appeal, he was an aspirant in the primary election conducted by the PDP and monitored by INEC in accordance with the proviison of Section 84(1) of the Electoral Act; Paragraph 15(c) , Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution, as well as the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Sylva v. PDP.
He added that he emerged “as the candidate that scored the highest number of votes during the primary election organised by the 1st respondent (PDP) and supervised and monitored by by the 2nd respondent (INEC). The name of the appellant (Abacha), who emerged as the winner during the primary election, was wrongly substituted with that of the 3rd respondent (Wali) who scored zero vote during the primary election.” The appellant also faulted the Court of Appeal for holding that Wali did not participate in the primary election held on May 25, 2022 at No: 5A Lugard Avenue, Kano, which primary he (Abacha) won.
Abacha argued that contrary to the position held by the Court of Appeal, there are documentary evidence presented before the trial court that Wali actually participated in the primary. “The findings of fact made by the trial court in respect of the participation of the 3rd respondent in the 1st respondent’s primary conducted on May 25, 2022 at No: 5A Lugard Avenue, Kano was not challenged by the 1st respondent at the lower court,” he said.
