Appeal Court Judgement: Police Ban Street Celebrations In Bauchi

Bauchi State Police Command has taken a decisive step to forestall potential unrest in anticipation of the impending judgment from the Court of Appeal on the gubernatorial election petition.  The Police Spokesperson, SP Ahmed Wakil, emphasized the ban on street celebrations, roadblocks, and provocative statements by political party supporters. Scheduled for Friday, November 17, 2023, the judgment has led to the prohibition of all rallies or celebratory gatherings linked to the Gubernatorial Election Petition. SP Ahmed Wakil highlighted the directive’s aim to prevent any potential disruptions or tensions between supporters of the ruling party, represented by Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, and the opposition party, with its flag bearer, Air Marshal Sadiq Baba Abubakar (rtd). While recognizing the right to celebrate, Wakil emphasized the importance of supporters abiding by the law.  He emphasized that celebratory activities should not infringe upon the rights of others and urged compliance with legal provisions. He explicitly warned against road blockades, fireworks, inciting remarks, or attempts to intimidate the opposition party. The Police Command made it clear that any individual or group found violating the order or causing a breach of peace would face the consequences without hesitation. “Moreover, the blissful supporters must comport themselves in line with the provisions of the law; blockage of roads, fireworks, and inciting utterances or blackmailing the opposition party would not be condoned,” he said.

Nasarawa Guber: Appeal Court Reserves Judgement On Sule’s Petition 

The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal, has reserved judgment in an appeal instituted by Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Sule was at the appellate court, contesting against the majority decision by a tribunal nullifying his election, in favour of David Ombugadu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). A three-member panel of justices headed by Justice U. Onyemenam told parties involved that the date for judgment will be communicated to them. In the actual proceedings, Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Sule who filed five processes to challenge the appeal urged the Court to dismiss the judgment of the Tribunal and allow the appeal of his client.  Olanipekun argued that the Tribunal refused to take the submissions of their witnesses during the Tribunal hearing and that data from the BVAS tendered to the Tribunal were merely dumped and without been considered as evidence. In his response, counsel to Ombugadu, Kanu Agabi SAN, and the PDP urged the court to dismiss the appeal stating that their evidence are merely documentary. On the issue of BVAS, Agabi argued that it was sufficiently demonstrated in the Tribunal as demanded by law, with the print out from the machine shown, against the argument that they were merely dumped without being analysed.  Agabi who referred the court to the judgment of the Tribunal argued that in delivering judgment, the lower court painstakingly gave a breakdown of how it arrived at its decision.

Appoint Only Qualified Judges To Supreme, Appeal Court Benches, Tinubu Charges NJC

President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, has called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to rely on qualified, experienced and diligent private legal practitioners in both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court appointments. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the All-Nigerian Judges Conference of the Superior Courts, held at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), in Abuja, the president held that the move will strengthen the nation’s judiciary. Tinubu expressed that the judiciary had over the years, performed excellently to creditably retain the status of the last hope of the common man, adding that his administration was determined to improve the welfare of judicial officers in the country. Tinubu was represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN. He said: “While the Nigerian judiciary is not immune from certain challenges, it has, however, surmounted these limitations to creditably retain the status of both the last hope of the common man and the bastion of rule of law and democracy. “The Nigerian judiciary has indeed evolved from the colonial days, through the rich history of contemporary worthy status today. While there may be misgivings here and there, we cannot begin to imagine what our country would have been subjected to if there was no judiciary. “Through a gamut of landmark judgments, the judiciary has continued to maintain the cause of the rule of law in Nigeria and strengthens our democratic processes and institutions. “I wish to observe that in the cause of demonstrating this commitment to the advancement of the rule of law and democracy, especially in political and electoral cases, the judiciary has come under myopic criticism and attacks. Concluding, he reiterated his confidence in the accomplishment of the judiciary in the cause of nation-building, both locally and on the global scene.

Appeal Court Sacks APC Reps Member Ilyasu Kwankwaso, Affirms Datti As New Winner

The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, on Monday sacked Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In a ruling delivered on Monday, the appeal court affirmed and reinstated Yusuf Umar Datti of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the rightful winner of the Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency Election. The three-man panel led by Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awotoye allowed an appeal by Yusuf Datti. Delivering its judgment, Justice Awotoye held that the tribunal was wrong to have counted the date of the appellant’s resignation on the date of his party’s primary election and that Section 77 of the Electoral Act was misapplied, saying no court has jurisdiction on the issue of membership of the party, report added. Earlier, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed Danjuma Goje’s victory as the senator representing the Gombe Central senatorial district. An appeal by the PDP candidate, Abubakar Aliyu, regarding the February 25 senatorial election was rejected by a three-member panel of judges at the appellate court. The Court of Appeal in Abuja has rendered a verdict in the case of the Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency election in Kano State. The panel upheld the decision of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Gombe, which had previously dismissed Aliyu and the PDP’s petition against Goje and the APC.

Appeal Court Upholds Isah’s Election As Kogi East Senator

The Abuja division of the Appeal Court has affirmed the election of Jibrin Isah, of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, was declared the winner of the said election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, Victor Adoji of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) went to the Tribunal, citing cancellation of election results in some polling units where the PVCs collected were more than the margin of win. Specifically, he Prayed the court to nullify the victory of Isah and ordered a supplementary election in the affected 94 polling units in the senatorial district. In a unanimous Judgement, the tribunal led by Justice K.A. Orjiako ordered a rerun in 94 polling units where there were irregularities in the last general election. Not pleased with the judgment, Isah filed an appeal against the decision of the lower court.   The appeal court in its judgment on Thursday, held that the witness on which the tribunal relied its judgment on was incompetent.  The court subsequently expunged the exhibits presented by the witness from the records.  “The appeal succeeds. The judgment of the tribunal is hereby set aside and the appellant’s victory is sustained and affirmed, ” the appellate court held.

Appeal Court sacks Suswam from Semate

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Wednesday, nullified the election of former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, as senator representing North East Senatorial District of the state. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, said it was satisfied that Suswam was not the valid winner of the senatorial election that held on February 25. It faulted the judgement of the Benue State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal which returned Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Senate, after it nullified the election victory of Emmanuel Udende of the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to the appellate court, the tribunal wrongly evaluated the evidence that was presented before it by the parties in the matter and thereby arrived at an erroneous conclusion that upheld the petition Suswam filed to challenge Udende’s election victory. Consequently, the court voided the judgement of the tribunal, saying it found merit in the appeal that was lodged before it by the APC candidate. “The judgement of the tribunal delivered on 8th of September, 2023 is hereby set aside. “The return of the appellant as the winner of the Benue North East senatorial election that was held on February 25 is hereby affirmed. “Parties are to bear their respective cost,” the court held in its lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Abimbola Adejumo, who led the panel. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Udende as winner of the senatorial election after he polled a total of 135,573 votes to defeat Suswam who garnered 112,231 votes. Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, Suswam approached the tribunal on the ground that it was marred by over-voting, irregularities, alterations and falsification of results. In its judgement, the tribunal held that Suswam successfully established his case that irregularities took place in five out of seven LGAs in the senatorial district. The tribunal cancelled 51,895 votes entered for Udende and also cancelled 21,229 votes entered for Suswam. After subtracting the padded votes, Suswam was left with 90,590 while Udende scored 82,699 votes. The tribunal, headed by Justice Ori Zik-Ikeoha, entered judgment in Suswam’s favour, a decision that was vacated by the appellate court on Wednesday.

Bayelsa Guber: Appeal Court Upholds Sylva’s APC Candidature

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, Tuesday, cleared the immediate pass Minister of Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, for the November 11, governorship election in Bayelsa State, under the umbrella of All Progressives Congress (APC). The Appellate Court awarded the sum of N1million in favour of the appallate. The three-member panel, in a unanimous judgement held that the federal high court which nullified Sylva’s candidature lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit filed by an APC member, Demesuoyefa Kolomo. The court held that Kolomo was not an aspirant in the primary election that produced the ex-minister of petroleum. Kolomo, who described himself as a registered voter, had, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023 filed on June 3, prayed the court to delete Sylva’s name from the list of candidates vying for the election, having taken an oath of office twice as governor of the state. Justice Donatus Okorowo, of the federal high court, Abuja, had on October, 9, disqualified Sylva as candidate in the November 11 governorship election.

Appeal Court Sacks Senate Minority Leader, Mwadkwon, Orders Rerun

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Sunday, nullified the election of the Senate Minority Leader, Simon Mwadkwon, in the February 25 senatorial election in the Plateau North Senatorial District. A three-member appeal panel ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to, within 90 days, conduct a fresh election in the senatorial district. This is a ruling on the appeal filed by Mr Chris Giwa of the All Progressives Congress and Mr Gyang Zi of the Labour Party. Giwa and Zi had appealed against the judgment of the election petitions tribunal in Jos, Plateau State which, affirmed Mwadkwon of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the senatorial poll. The appellants had contended that Mwadkwon was not qualified to stand for an election as his party, the PDP, which nominated him during the election, had no structure to do so, having not complied with an earlier high court order for the party to conduct a proper state congress. Justice E. Daudu, who read the lead judgment of the appellate court, held that the high court order was not fully complied with by the PDP as 12 LGAs didn’t participate in the said congress. “The court made total findings with regard to the issue in focus.  “To avoid anarchy, I agree with the appellants that the court must protect an order of another court. “I agree with the appellant that the third respondent had no valid structure and could not have claimed to have validly nominated the second respondent (Mwadkwon) for the election.  “Given the findings of this court, the appeal, therefore, succeeds as the court order was not complied with. “The first respondent is hereby ordered to conduct another senatorial election in Plateau North within 90 days,” the judge ruled.  

Updated: Appeal Court Nullifies Senator Abbo’s Election Victory In Adamawa North

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has rendered a unanimous verdict, sacking Senator Elisha Abbo, who represented Adamawa North Senatorial District. The court’s decision overturned the previous tribunal judgment that had confirmed Abbo, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the legitimate winner of the Senatorial seat. The appeal was lodged by Amos Yohanna, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, who contested the results. Senator Abbo, known for a controversial incident in 2019, where he assaulted a lady in an Abuja sex toy shop, saw his re-election aspirations dashed by the appellate court’s ruling. As a result of the assault incident, a Federal Capital Territory High Court had previously ordered Senator Abbo to pay N50 million in damages to the assaulted lady, a judgment later upheld by the appellate court panel led by Justice Jamilu Tukur. Senator Abbo, acknowledging his removal from the legislative office, urged his supporters and constituents to remain composed.

Appeal Court Has Delivered 7,295 Judgements, 3,665 Motions -President

The President of Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem has revealed that the court delivered a total of 7,295 judgments and 3,665 motions in the 2022/2023 legal year.  Speaking at the commencement of the 2023/2024 new legal year, Justice Dongben-Mensen recalled that a total of 98 panels were constituted to hear election petitions across the country to handle a total of 1,209 petitions that were filed.  Breaking down the delivery, she noted that among the petitions, five were filed at the presidential election petition court and have been concluded, while some of 147 filed at the Senatorial election tribunal have been delivered and 417 petitions from the House of Representatives election are also being attended to. Also, a total of 557 petitions associated with the State Houses of Assembly, and 83 Gubernatorial Elections petitions are being disposed off, added that twenty-eight States participated in the Governorship elections, and petitions were filed in 24 states. Concluding, she appealed to the Minister of the FCT, Nyeson Wike to provide a large piece of land for the construction of the Abuja Division, adding that Abuja division is currently overwhelmed by voluminous documents and suffers from lack of adequate storage facilities and office space.  A former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr.  Kanu Agabi (SAN) said on Monday that Nigeria’s continued survival greatly depends on the transparency of judicial officers in the discharge of their judicial functions. Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria has therefore pleaded Judges and Justices not to lose confidence and principles in themselves no matter the challenges. He expressed that, in spite of the contributions and sacrifices of judicial officers to the survival of the country, they are still been unwarantedly attacked and criticised. He warned that the country would be doomed unless the unjust attacks against judicial officers are stopped. “It is only here that judicial officers work harder than slaves and yet, they are not appreciated. But the consolation is that the Judges in Nigeria are no match to the devil they are contending with. “Whether we like it or not, we have to be proud of our Justices. They are brilliant and bold and some of them appointed as Justices in other countries. “A mistake by one Justice should be not be generalised to warrant general condemnation from any quarter. They surpass Judges from other countries. They deserve commendation for resisting the evils. “Majority of judicial officers are standing in the face of challenges and unless we are careful with the way we attack Judges, we will lose our minds and conscience”, he said. He said, those who criticise judicial officers are at liberty to do so, but they have to cautious in the way they go about it adding that, while criticising the judiciary, they must not abuse it. The former Minister of Justice spoke against granting of outlandish bail conditions to suspected criminals. He noted that the law presumes them innocent until guilt is established adding that, granting of outlandish bail that will keep them in custody is unconstitutional According to him, “We need not to slam bail conditions that are unattainable as the principles which govern bail conditions are the same as fine governed by the constitution”. He challenged the current AGF to use his office to improve the welfare and work conditions of judicial officers. In his speech, the AGF and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration will address the issue of shortage of Justices at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.