The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Monday, dismissed a petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Senator Aisha Dahiru Binani.
The petition sought to invalidate the election of Umar Ahmadu Fintiri as the duly elected governor of Adamawa State.
The Appellate Court upheld the decision of the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had previously declared Fintiri, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the lawful winner of the poll.
In a judgment penned by Justice Tunde Oyebanji Awotoye, the case brought forward by Binani and the APC was dismissed on several grounds of irregularities.
One of the key issues was that Binani and the APC failed to call upon Polling Agents who had participated in the election as witnesses. Instead, they called upon Campaign Coordinators who were not present at the election venue.
Justice Awotoye noted that the three witnesses called upon to establish malpractices in 27 Local Government Areas, who were Campaign Coordinators, are considered hearsay witnesses as they were not party agents. He stated that it is against the law to attach probate values to the testimony of the Campaign Coordinators, rendering such testimonies worthless in the eyes of the law.
Furthermore, Justice Awotoye pointed out that the brief of argument filed by Binani and the APC contravened the law, rendering it incompetent and deserving of dismissal. He also held that the records of appeal transmitted to the Court of Appeal by Binani and the APC were incomplete and insufficient for the Court to make any findings.
The Court declared the declaration of Binani and the APC as winners of the election as an illegal act, stating that the only authority to make such a declaration is the Returning Officer. The Court also criticised Binani for attempting to take responsibility for the actions of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who had opted to take the law into his own hands.
Justice Awotoye stated, “In the eyes of the law, the Resident Electoral Commissioner is on his own. He should be allowed to take responsibility for his illegal and unlawful act.”
The unanimous judgment dismissed the appeal in its entirety and awarded a cost of N1M to be paid to Fintiri and the PDP by Binani and the APC.
It is worth noting that the Adamawa State Governorship Electoral Petitions Tribunal had, in October, dismissed the petition filed by Binani seeking Fintiri’s removal from office. Further details will be provided later.