The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Appeal court

  • Taraba: Bulkachuwa to decide venue for Ishaku’s appeal 

    Taraba: Bulkachuwa to decide venue for Ishaku’s appeal 

    The President of the Court of Appeal Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa is to determine where the appeal filed by Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State would be entertained, The Nation gathered Monday.

    Usually, the Court of Appeal in Yola, Adamawa State has the jurisdiction and entertains the appeal cases from Taraba. But with the sitting of the Tribunal in Abuja on security concerns in the North Eastern region, it was not clear where the appeal would be treated, and only Bulkachuwa can decide on the venue.

    Ishaku filed an appeal for the appellate court to set aside the judgment by the governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja which dismissed him from office and handed the governorship to his opponent Aisha Jummai Alhassan.

    The Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Yusufu Akirikwen Monday said the legal counsel of the governor, headed by Joseph Dauda, has filed three notices of appeals which were already begging for treatment by the Court of Appeal.

    Akirikwen was reacting to reports that Ishaku, who rejected the tribunal verdict, has failed to file his appeal within the constitutional 21 days of filling an appeal.

    “The report is a mischief, meant to mislead members of the public, particularly the teeming supporters of the governor.

    “Where did they get their report from? The only authentic source apart from us would have been the registrar of the Court of Appeal,” he said.

    The Justice Commissioner who displayed three notices of appeal, with official stamp of the court, added that “the first appeal was filed by the governor himself, on November 24; second appeal was filed by the PDP, on November 25; and the third appeal also filed on November 25, was by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The Nation gathered that the litigant (Alhassan) also immediately filed a cross-appeal on November 26.

    The tribunal headed by Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar, had on November 7, ordered that Alhassan be sworn as governor because The PDP did not conduct a valid primary that threw Ishaku up as the its flag bearer.

    The tribunal however said Alhassan could not adequately prove her allegation of “over voting, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010.”

    Alhassan has filed an appeal that the tribunal erred on this ground.

    “You can cross appeal only when there is a substantial appeal pending. With Alhassan’s cross appeal, it means we have appealed the tribunal judgment,” Akirikwen said and added that the people of Taraba should remain calm.

    “The governor is going to guide and protect the mandate given to him,” he said.

     

  • I have no case with Ortom, says Mark

    I have no case with Ortom, says Mark

    Former Senate President, David Mark, Sunday said that he did not accuse the Benue State Government of interference in the Court of Appeal decision which voided the Benue South Senatorial election result.

    Mark however noted that he found it curious that the state governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, promptly came up with a frantic denial of playing any role in the judicial decision as if he sat on the panel of judges who voided the election.

    The former Senate President spoke through his media assistant Paul Mumeh in a statement made available to reporters in Abuja.

    The Court of Appeal on Saturday voided the March 28 Senatorial election in Benue South which returned Mark as the winner of the election.

    Mark noted that it is even more strange that Ortom, claimed “neither to have interfered nor influenced the judgement” when nobody accused or mentioned the governor’s name in any blame sharing.

    The statement read in part, “We do not intend to join issues with anyone over the decision of the Court of Appeal in Makurdi, Benue State, that voided the election of the former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, as Senator representing Benue South

    “But we found it curious that the state governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, can come up with a frantic denial of playing any role in the judicial decision as if he sat on the panel.

    “It is even more strange that Ortom, through his media adviser, Terve Akase, said his boss neither interfered nor influenced the judgement whereas nobody had accused or mentioned the governor’s name in any blame sharing.

    “It is trite saying in African tradition that if an owl cried in the night and a child dies the morning, we do not need to ask who killed the child.

    “Would it be wrong to conclude therefore that Ortom, through his media adviser, has personally or vicariously, taken responsibility for the panel decision to rule against Senator Mark?

    “On our part, we believe in the independence of the judiciary as the last hope of the common man but the governor’s quick denial of any role in the judgement, even when he had not been accused, is a subtle narrative of the role the state government played in this bizarre decision of the Appeal panel.

    “In Benue South, hate him or love him, Senator Mark adorns a garment washed by God which no man can stain.

    “If for whatever reason, the justices of Appeal Tribunal found merit in awarding victory to a man who neither participated nor contested the election in the real sense of the word, we hail their ingenuity.

    “For us, it is more revealing that the Appeal panel did not question or disapproved the results of the election but found comfort in conflict in dates signed by the INEC returning officer for no fault of Sen. Mark as if that was more relevant than the votes that count and were counted.

    “Nothing can be farther from the truth. Our people voted overwhelmingly for Sen. Mark on march 28th 2015 and are prepared to do same even now. No amount of external forces or harassment can undermine the resolve of our people .

    “It is no longer a surprise that people forget their yesterday with ease but we wish Ortom well.”

  • COURT OF APPEAL SACKS DAVID MARK, ORDERS ELECTION RE-RUN

    COURT OF APPEAL SACKS DAVID MARK, ORDERS ELECTION RE-RUN

    •Ex-Senate president says he’ll win 100 times

    The Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, yesterday nullified the March re-election of Senator David Mark and ordered a fresh poll within 90 days in Benue South Senatorial District.

    The court handed down the verdict in the appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, Mr. Daniel Onjeh.

    In his first reaction to the court’s decision yesterday, Mark asked his supporters to keep the peace and be strengthened ahead of the re-run.

    Onjeh had approached the appellate court on October 20 after the election tribunal dismissed his case against Mark, a former president of the senate.

    Onjeh claimed that the election was marred by violence and rigging.

    He alleged that INEC officials were compromised and voters financially induced by PDP agents at the various polling units in the district.

    The petitioner also alleged that accreditation of voters was not properly done, card readers were not used and accreditation did not take place in some polling units.

    But the tribunal, led by Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu   dismissed the case in its entirety for want of proofs.

    In the judgment delivered on Oct 7, 2015 Dipeolu dismissed the petition on the ground that the petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on him by law.

    However, Onjeh in his appeal contended that the tribunal failed to consider and make necessary findings of fact on all the vital issues raised in the petition.

    He also averred that the tribunal erred by departing from its earlier decision in a similar case where it declared that collation of votes after declaration and return on certain votes was irregular.

    He also said that the tribunal erred by failing to consider his final written address and determine the relevant arguments proffered in it.

    The petitioner insisted that the tribunal had miscarried justice in spite of the evidence placed before it.

    He, therefore, urged the appellate court to invoke the provision of Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act and review the evidence in his petition so as to overturn the decision of the lower court.

    He is also Nigeria’s longest-serving senator. He was elected in 1999, and re-elected in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. He served as president of the senate for eight years.

    Reacting to the court’s decision yesterday, Mark pleaded with his supporters to remain calm and refuse to be discouraged.

    Mark in a statement issued by his Media Assistant, Paul Mumeh, said his constituents should be strengthened ahead of the re-run.

    He believed that he won the election convincingly and was confident his constituents would turn out en masse to vote for him again.

    He said, “Whatever the situation may be, one thing I know is that my people are solidly behind me. They also appreciate the fact that I have done more than enough to lift up Idoma nation to a position of eminence in the contemporary political history of Nigeria.

    “I won the election clean and clear. If we go back to the polls 100 times, I will still win convincingly.”

     

  • Breaking news: Appeal court nullifies Mark’s election

    Breaking news: Appeal court nullifies Mark’s election

    The Appeal Court sitting in Makurdi Saturday nullified the election of former Senate President, David Mark.

    The court ordered a rerun of the election within 90 days.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Benue South, Mr. Donald Onjeh, had challenged the decision of the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the victory of Mark of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

  • Kashamu: Appeal Court disbands panel over alleged bribery

    Kashamu: Appeal Court disbands panel over alleged bribery

    •PDP, APC react

    President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa has disbanded the three-man panel sitting on National Assembly’s election petitions in Ogun State.

    She has ordered the reconstitution of a fresh panel.

    This followed a bribery allegation against the panel members by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senator Buruji Kashamu.

    The Clerk of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, broke the news yesterday to reporters, who came to the court for the beginning of hearing in an appeal filed by the PDP and Kashamu over the tribunal’s judgment in Abeokuta.

    Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tobi Ebiowei, in Abeokuta on October 9, annulled Kashamu’s election.

    He ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh elections in 110 polling units of Kashamu’s Ogun East Senatorial District within the next 90 days.

    Reacting to the disbandment, the counsel to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ajibola Oluyede, said they were satisfied with the appellate court’s decision.

    He said the allegation against the panel could not be swept under the carpet, adding that whenever there was an accusation against a panel, they should be removed.

    “The original panel has been disbanded and we were notified that a new panel has been constituted. They will resume soon,” he said.

    Similarly, the Chairman of Ogun State PDP, Mr. Adebayo Dayo, described the action as a victory to his party and fairness by the judiciary.

    “What has happen today here is that the judiciary is trying to be fair to all concerned. We discovered that some people want to manipulate the panel,” he said.

    But the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Ogun East, Dapo Abiodun, expressed shock over the disbandment.

    He described the bribery allegation by the PDP as laughable and outrageous.

    “We thought the appeal was going to be heard today, but we were surprised that the panel has been disbanded. The clock is ticking and we have a time line of 60 days for the appeal to be heard and it remains 10 to 12 days before it will lapsed.

    “If one party thinks they will not get justice because of some false accusation or the other, and the judiciary, in its wisdom, thinks that by disbanding the panel is the best, then we believe in their decision and we shall abide with them,” he said.

    Abiodun vowed that he would continue to pursue justice to recover his stolen mandate.

     

  • Appeal Court declines Ondo PDP’s request to reverse judgement

    Appeal Court declines Ondo PDP’s request to reverse judgement

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State has dismissed the application of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate for Akoko Southwest Constituency II, Abiodun Ogunbi seeking to set aside the final Judgment on its petition.

    The Court had earlier dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and Ogunbi.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Counsel, Charles Titiloye had challenged the Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal to hear the said application after delivering its final judgment in the petition.

    He further argued that Appeal Court ceased to have Jurisdiction over the appeal after the expiration of 60 days within which it can hear the appeal under section 285(7) of the constitution.

    The PDP’s Candidate in Akoko Southwest Constituency, Ogunbi had approached the Court of Appeal to set aside its final judgment dismissing their petition.

    On September 22, the Court dismissed Ogunbi’s petition and affirmed the election of Felemu Gudu Bankole of the APC as the winner of Ondo state House of Assembly Election for Akoko South West Constituency.

    At the hearing of the application Tuesday, the Appeal Court upheld Titiloye’s objection on behalf of APC and held that having delivered a final Judgment in the said petition, the Court is ‘funtus officio’ and has no jurisdiction to entertain the PDP application to set aside its Judgement.

  • Appeal Court upholds Ortom’s election

    Appeal Court upholds Ortom’s election

    The Court of Appeal, sitting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, yesterday upheld the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which affirmed the election of Samuel Ortom as governor.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Terhemen Tarzor, had prayed the court to reverse the tribunal’s judgment and declare him winner of the April 11 election.

    He said the tribunal erred in its judgment because Ortom was not qualified to contest in the election.

    According to him, Ortom was not validly nominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to participate in the election.

    Tarzor urged the Appellate Court to set aside the tribunal’s judgment, which had dismissed his petition for lack of merit.

    The PDP candidate also prayed the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him winner of the poll.

    But APC said its candidate was validly nominated in conformity with the Electoral Act, 2010, adding that the onus of proof rested on the appellants.

    All the parties in the matter – APC, PDP, INEC – had filed cross-appeals and cross-appellant appeals challenging some aspects of the tribunal’s judgment.

    But in a unanimous decision, read by Justice Mohammed Garba, the court dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.

    Justice Garba said the appellants failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, in line with the legal dictum that “he who alleges must prove”.

    The judge added that the lower court was right in dismissing the petition.

    Benue State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mike Gusah, described the judgment as sound.

    The commissioner urged the opposition to join the governor to develop the state.

    But PDP’s lawyer Donald Kertyo said his team would contest the ruling at the Supreme Court.

     

     

     

  • Benue: Court upholds Ortom’s election

    Benue: Court upholds Ortom’s election

    The election of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state was on Wednesday upheld by the court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, Benue state.

    The election Tribunal had affirmed the qualification and election of Ortom as governor of Benue state, but Terhemen Tarzoor, the governorship candidate of the PDP, had asked the court to reverse the tribunal’s judgment in his favour.

     

  • Appeal Court reserves ruling in Mark, Onjeh suit

    Appeal Court reserves ruling in Mark, Onjeh suit

    The Makurdi Division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in an appeal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Benue South.

    Donald Daniel Onjeh challenged the decision of the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the victory of former Senate President David Mark of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)).

    Onjeh’s lawyer Adetunji Oso urged the Appellate Court to allow his appeal and set aside the decision of the tribunal.

    He said the court erred when it held that the papers tendered by his client were mere documentary hearsay.

    The documents, according to Oso, demonstrated that while the collation of results for the Benue South Senatorial District’s election on March 28 was still going on in seven of the nine local governments areas, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mark winner of the poll.

    Ojo averred that the tribunal, in considering the material evidence before it in the unreported election petition between Avine Agbom and Martins Aza (2015), nullified the election of Aza (PDP, Makurdi North State Constituency).

    The appeal arose from the tribunal’s verdict, which was upheld by the Makurdi Division of the Court of Appeal.

    But Mark, PDP and INEC urged the Court of Appeal to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.

    Mark’s lead counsel Kenneth Ikonne noted that where figures or scores of an election were challenged, such evidence must come from election officers, in line with Section 126 of the Evidence Act.

    Ikonne said this did not happen in the instant subject of appeal.

    The lawyer urged the court to dismiss the appeal with cost and affirm Mark’s election victory.

    PDP’s lawyer Chris Alechenu drew the attention of the Appellate Court to the sixth issue in Onjeh’s brief, which he said was deemed abandoned since same was not argued in the matter.

    He urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.

  • Appeal Court reverses sack of Kogi council chairmen

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgment of a Kogi High Court, which nullified the election of the council chairmen and councillors.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had appealed the High Court’s decision.

    It joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), the state government, the Attorney-General, the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (KGSIEC), Abraham Olaniran, David Apeh, Haruna Ibrahim, Ahmed Samari and Amoka Suberu, as respondents.

    The appellate court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Mustapha, resolved the three issues for determination in the appellant’s favour.

    He said: “The judgment of the Kogi State High Court, sitting in Koton Karfe, delivered on December 8, 2014, is hereby set aside.”

    The PDP, among others, prayed the court to determine whether or not the judge was right to have nullified the election of the local government chairman and councillors when they were not parties to the action before him.

    In 2008, the state government appointed Olaniran, Apeh, Ibrahim, Samari and Suberu as members of the KGSIEC.

    On March 20, 2013, APC filed an action challenging KGSIEC’s composition on the grounds that its members were not qualified as chairman and members of the electoral body.

    APC argued that the KGSIEC members were partisan members of the PDP, adding that since the commission ought to be an impartial arbiter, its members should not belong to any party.

    Although the PDP said the KGSIEC members had resigned from the party, the lower court held that the actions they took were invalid.

    Dissatisfied, the PDP appealed the judgment but the appellate court held that the judge was wrong to have nullified the composition of KGSIEC. It also held that APC’s suit at the High Court was statute-barred.

    “On the whole, it is the considered opinion of this court that the judge erred in granting orders that affected the interest of persons, who were not parties to the case.

    “The orders cannot stand by reason of the fact that such orders are null and void. This issue too, for that reason, is accordingly resolved in favour of the appellant, and against the respondents.

    “Having resolved all the three issues for determination in favour of the appellant and against the respondents, the appeal succeeds perforce, and it is allowed,” Justice Mustapha held.

    Two other justices on the panel concurred with the judgment delivered on October 23.

    Justice Moore Adumein said: “For the comprehensive reasons given by my learned brother, I allow this appeal.”

    Justice Tani Hassan said: “I agree with the reason and conclusion in the lead judgment…”