By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with
Published on 2024-01-18 12:33:50
The appeal by the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna state, Mohammed Ashiru Isa, to void the election of Governor Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was heard by the Supreme Court. This followed a reserved judgement by the court till a later date to be communicated to the parties. The electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the ruling APC urged the Supreme Court to uphold Governor Sani’s election as announced by INEC on March 20, 2023.
The Supreme Court’s five-member panel of Justices, led by Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo, popularly known as Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, reserved judgement to a date that will be conveyed to the parties after they adopted all their briefs files in the matter.
The final judgement in the disputed Kaduna election is imminent. However, the INEC and the APC, through their lawyers, argued that the PDP’s petition and Isa’s appeal are incompetent and not worth considering. It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court, as the final arbiter of law in the country, would heed the defendants’ request. This disputed gubernatorial election is one of at least eight governorship election-related cases the Supreme Court will rule on in the coming days.
In an earlier report by Legit.ng, Governor Sani claimed that the PDP, in challenging his victory, helped prove that he was the actual winner of the 2023 governorship election. Governor Sani maintained that the petitioners, the PDP and Isa, have proved that he was the winner of the election. He pointed to the admission of the star witness for them, Boness Gwazah, a senior system analyst (SSA) of the VR/ICT Department of INEC in Kaduna state.
Through his lawyers, the governor stated that he did not see any reason to call for a witness because he had gathered enough evidence. The Supreme Court’s judgement will provide the final resolution of the circumstances surrounding the Kaduna state election.
