How Justice Adumein ordered a rerun in non-existent polling units

By Lillian Okenwa

• Lawanati Kofar Jauro, Yelo Lima, Abba Kalu, Shilo Abone are in Taraba, not in Kaduna state where the re-run was ordered

• Download judgment

Many Nigerians were aghast when the 17 November judgment of the Kano State Gubernatorial Election Petitions Tribunal, that sat at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, appeared to have handed down two different verdicts on the same matter.

While the tribunal announced orally that it has nullified the election of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, a Certified True Copy (CTC ) of its majority judgement delivered by Hon. Justice Moore Aseimo A. Adumein upheld his appeal and granted all the reliefs sought by the governor. The court has since announced that it was a clerical error.

Days ago however, an ex-Chair of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC ) and law teacher, Chidi Odinkalu in a tweet revealed that His Lordship, Justice A. A. Adumein had on 2 November 2023, made another ‘error’ in another judgment he delivered.

While delivering judgment in the National Assembly matter between Hon. Zayyad Ibrahim & 1 OR. V. INEC & 2 Ors., Justice Adumein ordered a re-run to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in four 4 polling units which are neither in Kaduna State nor in any part of the North -West. It turned out that the polling units –
a. Lawanati Kofar Jauro –Code 006,
b. Yelo Lima – Code 005
c. Abba Kalu – Code 012 and
d. Shilo Abone – Code 015, are in Taraba State, North Eastern Nigeria.

In two similar petitions addressed to the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Monica Dengbem-Mensem and the INEC Chair, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu dated 20 November,2023, the appellant Hon. Zayyad Ibrahim requested “for a clarification of the orders of this honourable court in the judgment of the Court delivered on the 2nd Novemeber, 2023; as the orders cannot be enforced.”

Asserting that: “These polling units are not in Igabi Local Government of Kaduna State and do not form part of the polling units or wards that I contested the 25th February, 2023 elections under”, the appellant also added: “The Appeal by the Appellant also does not include these places as polling units he is challenging.”

In view of his nomination alongside 10 other justices for elevation to the Supreme Court by the National Judicial Council (NJC), Odinkalu described this as “unsettling.”

Click here and here to download the judgment.