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Tag: Tribunal

  • Tribunal dismisses LP, PRP NYSC certificate forgery suit against Gov Mbah

    Tribunal dismisses LP, PRP NYSC certificate forgery suit against Gov Mbah

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu, on Thursday, dismissed NYSC certificate forgery suit brought by the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the Labour Party against Gov. Peter Mbah.

    The three-man tribunal, chaired by Justice Kudirat Akano, said there was no evidence before it to support the petitioners claim that a forged certificate was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Mr Chris Agu of the PRP and Chijioke Edeoga of the LP had separately filed suits against Mbah challenging his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate on the ground of it being forged.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the petitioners had alleged among others that Mbah was not qualified to contest the election and was not lawfully elected.

    According to the tribunal, section 177 of the 1999 constitution is not a requirement for contesting governorship election.

    The tribunal rejected Edeoga’s witnesses and ruled that the LP candidate did not present any admissible evidence to prove that Mbah’s certificate was forged.

    On PRP’s petition, Akano said that the issue was not contained in the petitioner’s affidavit, stating that to prove forgery, both the original and the supposedly forged certificate ought to have been exhibited before the tribunal.

    The tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove that the respondent possessed the minimum requirements to stand for the election including school certificate or its equivalent.

    It said therefore, there was no evidence to substantiate the claims adding that Mbah was not qualified to stand for the election.

    On the issue of plea bargain by Mbah, the tribunal averred that the exhibit presented by the petitioners did not show any plea bargain by the respondent.

    Akano further ruled that Mbah was duly elected by majority of votes cast at the election held on March 18.

  • Kano: Ganduje reacts to Tribunal’s Judgement

    Kano: Ganduje reacts to Tribunal’s Judgement

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje, says the judgement of Kano governorship election petition tribunal as a reflection of wishes of the people.

    Ganduje, who is the immediate past Governor of the state stated this on Wednesday while addressing a press conference in Abuja, shortly after the tribunal nullified the victory of Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and declared APC as the winner.

    The Chairman commended the judiciary for delivering a fair and transparent judgement.

    He also urged the supporters of the party to in the state to remain calm and peaceful.

    He said: “Today (Wednesday) is a historic day. We thank Allah for providing an enabling environment for the judiciary to deliver fair, transparent judgement in our favour and judgement that is true (reflection of the wishes of the people).

    “We thank the judiciary, our party leaders in our state, we thank the business community, the various support groups. We have to commend everybody in Kano state for being patient and continuous prayers for Allah to give us victory.

    “We urged them to continue to be peaceful, to continue to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner. We assure the Business Community that our new government if we come in In Sha Allah under our able Governor, Dr Yusuf Gawana that business will flourish in Kano.”

    On his part, the governorship candidate of APC in the 2023 elections in the state, Dr. Yusuf Gawuna commended the judiciary for being fair.

    He said: “Is a day that Allah has made it fruitful for us to emerge victorious based on the judgement of today and Alhamdulillah we have thank the judiciary for being fair.

    “We know Allah is the one that has done. He is the one that has done it for us before, He is the one that has done it now and In Sha Allah He will do it for us in the coming time. We pray that Allah will give us the health and life to be able to deliver to the people on the right path.”

    Gawuna assured that he would continue the good work started by Ganduje and he was going to be fair to everybody.

    He said, “Kano State is a commerce, and commerce, education, health —are areas we have highlighted in our blueprint during our campaign and In Sha Allah we will continue with what we have said. We make sure Kano is free from insecurity and other vices. We appreciate the support from the state and beyond.”

     

  • BREAKING: Tribunal confirms Gov Mohammed of Bauchi as authentic winner of guber election

    BREAKING: Tribunal confirms Gov Mohammed of Bauchi as authentic winner of guber election

    The Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has confirmed Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner in the state’s governorship election held on March 18.

    The tribunal invalidated the petition submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

    It decided that there is no compelling reason to nullify the election as the election was conducted in accordance with the law.

    The judgment was delivered by a three-man panel chaired by Justice P.T Kwahar.

    Details shortly…

  • Tribunal Judgment: FRSC cautions party supporters against ”wild celebration”

    Tribunal Judgment: FRSC cautions party supporters against ”wild celebration”

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Kano State has advised supporters of the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party(NNPP) against ”wild celebrations” after the Gubernatorial Election petition Tribunal judgment on Wednesday.

    The Sector Commander, Ibrahim Sallau-Abdullahi made the call in a statement signed and issued to newsmen by the Public Relations of the FRSC, Labaran Abdullahi in Kano.

    ”Supporters should resist temptation of wild celebrations during and after tribunal judgement, especially with vehicles or causing any form of obstruction on the roads.

    ”Wild celebrations can cause breach of traffic rules and regulations and result in obstruction of highways and road traffic crashes will not be allowed, as perpetrators will face full wrath of the law,” he said.

    The corps said that officials and other security agencies will not condole wreckless driving, route violation, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, indiscriminate parkings, overloading, over speeding and driving by underaged during and after the tribunal judgement.

    He advised motorists to adhere strictly to traffic rules and regulations.

    NAN reports that the tribunal is due to deliver judgment any moment now on the petition filed by the APC challemging the victory of Gov. Abba Yusuf of the NNPP in the March 18 election.

    The tribunal announced the judgement date in a notice issued to the lawyers representing parties to the case on Monday. The announcement came weeks after lawyers made their closing arguments on behalf of their clients on 21 August.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that the NNPP polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat the APC with its candidate, Nasir Gawuna, who scored 890,705 votes. The NNPP candidate thus won with a margin of 128,897 votes.

    Displeased, the APC filed a petition at the tribunal to challenge the results declared by the electoral body.

    The petition has received attention from within and outside the state, partly because it is a proxy war between rival political heavyweights in the state whose political tentacles extend to the national stage.

  • Kano guber: Tension as Tribunal sets to deliver judgement today

    Kano guber: Tension as Tribunal sets to deliver judgement today

    There is palpable tension in Kano State as the State Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal is set to deliver judgement on Wednesday, September 20 (today).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports security in the metropolis of Kano has been beefed up and a public warning has been issued to advise residents of the State who have no business in the Bompai vicinity of the election tribunal to steer clear.

    It was gathered that there has been a combined effort of the military and police operatives in the state in order to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

    The tribunal had fixed Wednesday, September 20, as the day to deliver its judgement on the petition filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC), challenging the election of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

    The tribunal on Monday announced the date for the judgement in a hearing notice sent to the two parties.

    While Kano remains calm and peaceful, supporters of APC and NNPP are eagerly anticipating the tribunal’s judgement.

    Supporters of the ruling NNPP have engaged in a week-long prayer session seeking God’s intervention on the verdict.

    The state government recently sacked two appointed officials, following alleged “unguided” statements against the judges of the tribunal.

    To preempt the breakdown of order, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Usuani Gumel, had invited leaders of the two political parties on a peace parley and appealed to them on the need to accept the tribunal’s verdict in good faith and allow peace to reign in the state.

  • BREAKING: Like Atiku, Peter Obi officially files suit in Supreme Court challenging tribunal’s judgement

    BREAKING: Like Atiku, Peter Obi officially files suit in Supreme Court challenging tribunal’s judgement

    Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi has filed a suit in the Supreme Court to nullify the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which on September 6 upheld the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the 2023 presidential election.

    Peter Obi in the Notice of Appeal predicated on 50 grounds at the Supreme Court, cited dissatisfaction with the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court.

    “Take notice that the appellants being dissatisfied with the decisions in PETITION NO: CA/PEPC/03/2023 MR. PETER GREGORY OBI & ANOR. v. – – INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & ORS. (consolidated with Election Petition Nos: CA/PEPC/04/2023 and CA/PEPC/05/2023), contained in pages 3-327 of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting as the Presidential Election Petition Court, Holden at Abuja, Coram: H. S. Tsammani, Stephen Jonah Adah, Misitura Omodere Bolaji-Yusuff, Boloukuroma Moses Ugo and Abba Bello Mohammed, JJ.C.A. (“the Court below”) delivered on the 6th day of September 2023, and more particularly stated in paragraph 2 of this Notice of Appeal, do hereby appeal to the Supreme Court on the Grounds set out in Paragraph 3 and will at the hearing of the appeal seek the Reliefs sought in paragraph 4 herein,” the notice of appeal filed at the Supreme Court by Peter Obi reads in part.

    Obi in the appeal filed by his lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, maintained that the PEPC erred in law and thereby reached a wrong conclusion when it dismissed the petition he lodged to challenge the outcome of the presidential poll that was held on February 25.

    Among other things, he contended that Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Court of Appeal, wrongly occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice against him, when it held that he did not specify polling units where irregularities occurred during the election.

    He further faulted the PEPC for dismissing his case on the premise that he did not specify the figures of votes or scores that were allegedly suppressed of inflated in favour of President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

    Obi equally accused the Justice Tsammani-led panel of erring in law when it relied on paragraph 4(1) (d) (2) and 54 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 to strike out paragraphs of his petition.

    While accusing the lower court of breaching his right to fair hearing, Obi, insisted that evidence of his witnesses were wrongly dismissed as incompetent.

    He told the apex court that the panel unjustly dismissed his allegation that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, uploaded 18, 088 blurred results on its IReV portal.

    More so, he alleged that the lower court ignored his allegation that certified true copies of documents that INEC issued to his legal team, comprised of 8, 123 blurred results that contained blank A4 papers, pictures and images of unknown persons, purporting same to be the CTC of polling units results of the presidential election.

    “The learned justices of the court below erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when they held and concluded that he failed to establish the allegation of corrupt practices and over-voting,” Obi added.

  • Tribunal judgement: Atiku approaches Supreme Court with 35 grounds of appeal

    Tribunal judgement: Atiku approaches Supreme Court with 35 grounds of appeal

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the last general election, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Presidential Election Petition Court’s judgement, which  upheld the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the 2023 presidential election on September 6,2023.

    Atiku in the Notice of Appeal predicated on 35 grounds, insisted that the tribunal in the judgment delivered by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani committed grave error and miscarriage of justice in its findings and conclusion in the petition challenging the declaration of Tinubu as President by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

    In the appeal filed by Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, prays that the Supreme Court  set aside the whole findings and conclusions of the Tribunal on the grounds that they did not represent the true picture of the grounds of his petition.

    Among others, the former Vice President maintained that the Tribunal erred in law when it failed to nullify the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, when by evidence before the tribunal, INEC conducted the election based on grave and gross misrepresentation contrary to the principles of the Electoral Act 2022 and based on the “doctrine of legitimate expectation”.

    Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) in the 2023 election is aldo heading to the Supreme court to challenge the outcome of the Presidential Election Petition Court.

  • DELTA GUBER: Appeal Court dismisses Gbagi’s case over tribunal ruling

    DELTA GUBER: Appeal Court dismisses Gbagi’s case over tribunal ruling

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, Friday, dismissed the interlocutory appeal filed by Social Democratic Party (SDP) Gubernatorial candidate, Chief Kenneth Gbagi against the ruling of the Governorship election tribunal sitting in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

    Gbagi had attempted to tender a gazette after parties had closed their case and the tribunal adjourned for judgment. The application was dismissed by the tribunal who deemed it an abuse of Court process.

    Not satisfied with the tribunal’s decision, Chief Gbagi appealed to the Court of Appeal. In its judgement, the Court of Appeal said the tribunal exercised its discretion judiciously in dismissing the application.

    The Court presided by Justice Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu also held that Chief Gbagi was unable to show how the gazette was relevant to his case or the overall justice of the case.

    Furthermore, the Court of Appeal was of the opinion that the gazette being a law, is one of those items that the tribunal can take judicial notice of, and there was no need for the hue and cry by Chief Gbagi in attempting to tender it.

    The Court also chastised the 6th and 7th Respondents for conceding to the Appeal instead of filing a cross appeal.

    On the whole, the appeal was dismissed by a unanimous decision of the three member panel.

  • Tribunal affirms election of Edo Senator

    Tribunal affirms election of Edo Senator

    The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin has affirmed the election of Sen. Neda Imasuen  (LP-Edo) for Edo South seat of the National Assembly.

    The Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and his party, had through petition no EPT/ED/SEN/03/2023 approached the tribunal to challenge Imasuen’s victory in the Feb. 25 election.

    The petitioners had approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of Imasuen’s victory on four grounds.

    The grounds specifically included alleged non-qualification, over-voting, corrupt practice, non-compliance with the Electoral Act by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the nomination of the 1st respondent by the LP.

    The three-member panel led by Justice Yusuf Mohammed, however, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit and being incompetent.

    Justice Mohammed, who read the over three hours judgement, said the petitioners failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Imasuen was not qualified to participate in the election.

    The tribunal held that the allegations of non-qualification, party nomination or sponsorship for an election were pre-election matters that could  only be entertained by a Federal High Court.

    He added that Iduoriyekemwen and his party also failed to prove that the senator did not score the majority of valid votes in the election.

    The Judge held that the petitioners were unable to prove the case of alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act and irregularities during the election.

    Reacting, Imasuen dedicated the victory to the people of Edo and lauded the tribunal for its courageous interpretation of  the law and standing for justice.

    The tribunal on had earlier struck out the petition filed by Valentine Asuen of the APC in Edo South.

  • Tribunal: Bayelsa APC Rep accepts defeat

    Tribunal: Bayelsa APC Rep accepts defeat

    A former member of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Israel Sunny-Goli has accepted the ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal which upheld the February 25, 2023, House of Representatives election of Hon. Marie Ebikake as a member of the Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency of the State.

    Sunny-Goli also congratulated the PDP candidate, Ebikake, and declined the pressure to appeal against the Election Petition Tribunal.

    Sunny-Goli, in a statement issued on Thursday in Yenagoa, said he would not proceed further.

    “After assessing the recent judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal, delivered on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, which upheld the victory of my opponent in the February 25, 2023, House of Representatives election, for the Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency, Hon. Marie Ebikake, and the impediment a prolonged legal tussle poses to the development of our constituency, I have arrived at the conclusion that it is best to accept the decision of the Tribunal and not go on to appeal its decision.”

    According to him, “My decision is predicated on my personal experience after the 2019 election, wherein, I was dragged before the Election Petition Tribunal and the court of appeal respectively by my opponent, who happens to be the same Hon. Ebikake. Without mincing words, I must admit that the legal tussle was unsettling and distractive, and I sincerely do not wish to be a clog in the wheel of progress for the very people I seek to serve, by stretching this legal tussle beyond the Election Petition Tribunal.

    “It is on this note that I congratulate Hon. Marie Ebikake on her victory in the February 2023 House of Representatives election, as well as the favourable judgement she got against me from the Election Petition Tribunal.

    “I look forward to seeing her bring the dividends of democracy to our people as she settles down to the business of representing them in the National Assembly.”

    “Let me also use this medium to encourage my supporters and followers alike. This is by no means an end to our political aspirations, as the future holds for us, prospects brighter than whatever we may have achieved in the course of our political journey.”

    “I implore you to remain calm and hopeful, as this is only a temporary setback in our political voyage and we shall bounce back from it bigger, stronger and better. A new chapter with greater prospect awaits us, and soon, we shall have a reason to be thankful for the benevolence of God towards us.”