- Supreme Court dismisses APC’s case against Enugu gov
- Tribunal affirms election of Edo Senator
Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf last night sacked his Commissioner of Lands and Physical Planning, Adamu Kibiya following his (Kibiya’s) Thursday death threat to members of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The governor also dismissed the Special Adviser on Youth Development, Aliyu Yusuf-Imma for disparaging Vice President Kashim Shettima on social media.
The governor distanced himself from the “unguarded utterances”, according to the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Baba Halilu-Dantiye.
The commissioner said at a press conference in Kano that the governor had sacked the two officials with immediate effect.
“Kano State Government has respect for Vice President Kashim Shettima and the judiciary; henceforth no government official should talk on any issue outside his ministry or agency,” Halilu-Dantiye said.
He urged people of the state to be law abiding and respect the rule of law.
Earlier yesterday,Aliyu had drawn flak from various quarters following the death threat to members of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The sacked officials spoke during a special prayer by supporters of the governor for the tribunal judgment to be in their favour.
The sacked commissioner in a video that has gone viral said:”I am sending this message to the tribunal judges, any judge that allows himself to be used and collect bribes and pass judgement that is not right, we want to tell him he must choose between his life and the bribe money he collected.
“We are promising you (our supporters), we are receiving your complaints, the votes you cast for His Excellency (Governor Yusuf) will not go in vain unless we lose our lives or Kano State will fall.
“Another message for the leaders: You have seen the conflict (banditry) in Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina, I swear because of this governorship seat, everyone will die. The conflict that will start in Kano will be deadlier than the ones in those states and Borno.”
Reacting to Aliyu’s statement yesterday,a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Adekola Mustapha said the matter should be immediately reported to the police.
“The concerned judges should make an official report to the police. This comment is criminal and should not be taken for granted. The judges should have the Commissioner to explain himself,He told The Nation.
He added:”Did he get any information that they were collecting bribe or what? Was it just an assumption or insinuation? What was the basis of his conviction or insinuation? I believe it’s speculative. He is not supposed to threaten the judges.
“I also expect the Chief Judge of the state to engage the state governor on this. This is how they bring about bad blood between the legislature and the judiciary.”
Continuing, the SAN said: “These arms of government are supposed to work together. This is intimidation. And if they give judgment against them, they will say we have said it before, it is because they have taken bribe. That nonsense should stop.”
Former Secretary-General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Chief Anthony N.Z Sani said the security agencies should do the needful as required by law when such death threat is issued.
He said democracy thrives on the rule of law, and therefore asked the NNPP or its members to take their grievances against those whom they think have given the bribes and those who collected the bribes to court, instead of resorting to violence.
Chief Sani said: “Our democracy thrives on the rule of law. And just as the APC has taken its grievances against the election of NNPP for governorship to the tribunal, the NNPP is expected to take its grievances against those whom he thinks have given the bribes and those who collected the bribes to court and not to resort to taking the law into its hands.
“Our leaders should cultivate the tenets of democracy by helping to strengthen the democratic institutions instead of trying to undermine the democracy by not respecting the judiciary which is a seminal arm of government without which there can be multiparty democracy.
“Like I said earlier, our democracy thrives on rule of law which the security agents are expected to enforce. The security agents know what the law expects them to do in these circumstances. They should therefore do the needful in accordance to what the law expects them to do in such situations.”
Also condemning Aliyu’s outburst Senator Shehu Sani described the threat as unfortunate asking the commissioner to withdraw it.
Senator Sani said :”If actually he (the Commissioner) has issued that threat, then it’s unfortunate and unbecoming of his position.
“I believe that the people of Kano State voted for NNPP without intimidation, so why should the Judiciary be intimidated to deliver judgement?
“The people are watching. The commissioner should withdraw his statement. And the judiciary should dispense justice according to the law.”
Former Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, said: “It’s left for the tribunal to do what is right.”
Supreme Court dismisses APC’s case Enugu gov Mbah’s victory
The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and it’s candidate in the last governorship election in Enugu State, Uche Nnaji challenging the return of Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election
A five-member panel of the apex court held that the legal team of the APC and Nnaji filed invalid brief of argument within the time required by law.
The court upheld the objection raised by the 1st and 2nd respondents (Mbah and the APC) to the competence of the written brief of argument filed by the appellants.
The court found that, as against the requirement under Order 10 Rule 1(a) of the Supreme Court Pre-election and Election Appeals Practice Direction 2023, the appellants filed a brief of argument of 47 pages as against the stipulated 40 pages.
It held that it was wrong for the appellant to exceed the recommended pages despite the circumstances, without first seeking and obtaining the leave of court to go beyond what is stipulated by the law.
The court rejected the appellants request that the brief be accepted as it is, and held that they (appellants) failed to convince the court with cogent reasons why the appellants’ incompetent brief should be allowed.
In the lead judgment, Justice Tijani Abubakar held that since the appellants’ brief was found to be invalid, the invalidity also affect the appeal in respect of which the brief of argument was filed.
Justice Abubakar said: “Where a party, on its own decides to act in flagrant disregard of the provisions of the law, it cannot turn around and seek for the endorsement of its illegal act by the court.
“The appellants/applicants (Nnaji and the APC) decided to put the cart before the horse. This court cannot endorse such brazen and flagrant disregard of its Rules.
“Where a condition precedent is mandatory for doing an act, failure to comply with the precondition will renders the act a nullity.
“The failure of the appellants/applicants to file their brief of argument within time can be likened to abandonment of their appeal
In the instant case, the appellants have failed to file their brief of arguments within time.
“The law must obviously takes its course. Since the appellants failed to file their brief of argument within time, the appeal is dismissed for failure to file brief of argument within time.”
Justice Abubakar proceeded to dismiss the appeal.
Nnaji and the APC had challenged, before the Governorship Election Tribunal in Enugu, the return of Mbah as the winner of the last governorship election in Enugu State.
The tribunal dismissed the petition for being abandoned, holding that the pre-hearing notices were wrongly issued, a decision they appealed.
The Court of Appeal in Enugu gave its judgment on July 18, affirmed the decision of the tribunal and dismissed the appeal by Nnaji and the APC on the grounds that the petition was abandoned.
Appeal court affirms Bauchi APC Rep’s election
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election of Rep. Jafaru Leko of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as member representing Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency of Bauchi State in the House of Representatives.
Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara represented Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency for four terms between 2007 and 2023.
In its judgment yesterday, the Justice Lawal Shuaibu-led three-member panel dismissed the appeal filed by Kefas Magaji of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking in merit as the petitioners failed to prove their case on the prevalence of evidence.
While the court was curious that most of the witnesses presented by the petitioners testified in Hausa language while their witness statements were made in English, it was however in agreement with the submission of Leko’s counsel, Johnson Usman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), that the trial tribunal was right when it dismissed the petition.
Consequently, the appeal court dismissed the appeal and upheld Jafaru Leko as the winner of the poll.
PDP’s action against tribunal judges, threat to democracy – APC
The Plateau State of the APC yesterday described the action of PDP against Judges of the Election Petition Tribunal as a threat to democracy.
The APC asked the security agencies to swiftly intervene to prevent violence in the State.
The party at a press conference in Jos, APC Publicity Secretary, Sylvanus Namang, accused the PDP of whipping up sentiments against Judges of the Election Petitions Tribunal in the State following some judegments that did not favour the PDP/
“Nothing can be more divisive than its (PDP) recent allegation that these respected and peace-loving leaders of our great Party are interfering with the activities of the high-heeled Tribunals even when opposite is the case. This amounts to crying wolf where there is none!” Namang said.
He alleged that PDP has been mobilizing its supporters to assemble at the premises of the Jos High Court on the judgement day of the the Governorship election petition.
Judgements sacking Plateau NASS members won’t stand: Senate Minority Leader, Mwadkwon vows
Also yesterday,the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon (PDP – Plateau North), described the tribunal judgements nullifying the election of some National Assembly members in Plateau State as strange.
Mwadkwon asked members and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Plateau State to remain calm.
He said: “Those presently rejoicing inside their house of lies will face the reality of their self deceit when the Appeal Court takes the right decisions on the tribunal judgements.”
Senator Mwadkwon, said the Supreme Court judgement on the PDP suit on the nomination of President Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the February 25, 2023 presidential election, Kashim Shettima, was clear enough as to who has rights to challenge nomination of political party candidates.
He said the Supreme Court has made it clear that no political party can challenge the nomination of another political party, wondering how and why the tribunal could nullify the election of duly elected National Assembly members on the ground that they were invalidly nominated due to no party structure in the state.
“Even assuming but not conceding that the PDP had no structure in Plateau State as at the time the candidates were nominated, is it the State party structure that nominates candidates or the National?
“Was the national body of PDP that is legally empowered to nominate candidates for elections not the one that conducted the primary elections that produced our candidates?
“Or is it the duty of any other organ of a political party to conduct primary elections apart from the national body of the party?
“However, in the case of the PDP in Plateau State, the party duly complied with the judgment of Justice S.P. Gang and held a repeat congress in September 2021.”
