- When we say the judiciary in #Nigeria is crooked, ppl wonder how so — Odinkalu
The Court of Appeal actually set aside the ruling of the Kano Governorship Election Tribunal which sacked Governor Kabir Yusuf and ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pay him N1million, according to the certified copy of the ruling, obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
According to the court document, the appeal court set aside the ruling of the election tribunal in the petition of the APC, PT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between the APC and the governor.
It had been reported on November 17 that the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal sacking Governor Yusuf of Kano State.
The court had said that the Appeal Court agreed with the judgment of the tribunal, ruling that the fielding of Abba Yusuf was in breach of the Electoral Law as he was not qualified to contest that Election.
Taking to to his X handle, Law teacher and ex-Chair of the National Human Rights Commission. Chidi Odinkalu said:” When we say the judiciary in #Nigeria is crooked, ppl wonder how so. Look: the Court of Appeal in Kano governorship case resolved all the issues “in favour of the appellant & against the 1st Respondent.” Yet it found the appeal lacking in merit & liable to be dismissed. Explain!”
The verdict comes nearly two months after the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, on September 20 sacked Yusuf and declared the APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as the winner of the March 18 election.
According to the certified court documents of the Court of Appeal obtained by SaharaReporters, Yusuf Abba Kabir is the appellant while the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are the first, second and third respondents respectively.
The court ruling read by Justice Moore Aseimo Abraham Adumen, said, “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the 1 respondent and against the appellant. In the circumstances, I resolve all the issues in favour of the appellant and against the 1 respondent.
Download JUDGMENT IN YUSUF ABBA KABIR v. APC & ORS.pdf
“Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed. The judgment of the tribunal in Petition No.: PT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between: ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS APC) v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 RS. delivered on the 20th day of September, 2023 is hereby set aside.
“The sum of N1,000,000.00 (one million naira only) is hereby awarded 5 costs in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent.”
It was signed by MOORE ASEIMO ABRAHAM ADUMEΙΝ JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL,
Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the poll in March.
The tribunal deducted 165,663 votes from Yusuf’s total as invalid votes, stating that the affected ballot papers were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.
The ruling came about six months after the APC candidate conceded defeat to Yusuf in the wake of INEC’s presentation of the certificate of return to the NNPP candidate.
In the wake of the judgment, the APC hailed it and described it as a show of the vibrancy of the nation’s judiciary, but kept mute on the N1million awarded against the party.
“As we applaud the judiciary for its courage and professionalism in discharging its important constitutional duties, we urge it to continue to rise above blackmail and intimidation by some self-serving political interests, and continue to give full expression to the tenets of the law, irrespective of the identity or status of the parties involved,” the party’s spokesman Felix Morka had said.
Credits: Sahara Reporters
