A’Court dismisses Umar’s appeal, affirms Sokoto gov’s victory

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Monday dismissed an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate,  Saidu Umar, challenging the victory of the Sokoto State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu.

The appellate court held that most of the evidence that the appellants presented to support their case was inadmissible.

It held that the tribunal was right when it expunged the incompetent exhibits that were either not pleaded or irrelevant to the case that was brought before it.

The Justice Haruna Mshelia-led tribunal had held that the petitioners were unable to prove any of the allegations they raised in their petition against the governor.

The petitioners had alleged that Governor Idris and his deputy did not secure the majority of valid votes that were cast at the election to be declared winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

They alleged that the election was marred by irregularities, adding that there was also non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

The petitioners also alleged that the governor and his deputy submitted forged certificates, with variations of names, to INEC in aid of their qualification to contest the election.

The tribunal, however, dismissed the petition and upheld the victory of Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress as the governor of the state.

Dissatisfied with the judgment,  the PDP and Umar approached the appeal court to seek redress.

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