The Supreme Court on Thursday, January 25, affirmed the elections of Siminalayi Fubara, Agbu Kefas, and Ahmad Aliyu as governors of Rivers, Taraba, and Sokoto states.
In three separate judgments, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the appellants failed to establish their claims as required.
The first judgment was on the appeal by Tonye Cole, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
Cole had, among others, prayed the court to void Fubara’s victory, claiming that the election was marred by corrupt practices, adding that it was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
He also claimed that Fubara did not validly resign his previous position as required by the law before the election was held.
Cole alleged that Fubara continued to sign documents as the Accountant-General of Rivers State, even after he was nominated as the candidate of the PDP for the governorship election.
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Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, who read the lead judgment of the Supreme Court on Thursday, resolved all four issues identified for determination in the appeal against the appellant.
Justice Saulawa held that the appeal was devoid of merit, dismissed it and proceeded to affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which earlier upheld Fubara’s election.
The second judgment was on the appeal by Muhammad Sani Yahaya of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who sought the nullification of Kefas’ election as the Governor of Taraba State.
Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, who read the lead judgment, found that the appeal was without merit.
Justice Garba held that the Court of Appeal was right to have earlier dismissed the appeal on grounds of incomplete record of appeal.
He noted that the part of the record of appeal that was omitted and not transmitted to the Court of Appeal was crucial and essential for the determination of the case.
The judge said the omitted part of the record contained the testimonies of polling unit agents called by the appellants at the trial tribunal in support of their claims relating to invalid votes
Justice Garba held that there was no way the Court of Appeal could have determined issues raised without the omitted records.
He consequently adjudged the appeal unmeritorious and dismissed it.
The judgment then affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld Kefas’ election.
The third judgment was on the appeal by Sa’idu Umar, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP,) in the last governorship election in Sokoto State.
Umar and his party had sought to void Aliyu’s election, claiming that Aliyu and his party, the APC were erroneously declared winners of the election because they did not secure a majority of valid votes cast at the election.
They alleged other malpractices, including that Aliyu submitted forged academic credentials, that he was not qualified, and that he did not accompany his Form EC9 with an affidavit as required by law.
In the lead judgment, Justice Tijjani Abubakar resolved all the issues distilled for determination, against the appellants.
Justice Abubakar held that the appellants failed to prove their claims and proceeded to dismiss the appeal.
He affirmed the November 27, 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which earlier upheld Aliyu’s election.
