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The Supreme Courtroom, on Thursday, reserved judgments on the Kano and Bauchi states governorship appeals.
The five-man panel led by John Okoro adjourned the appeals for judgment after listening to the events’ arguments.
The Kano State Governor and New Nigeria Peoples’ Occasion candidate, Abba Yusuf, is interesting the decrease court docket choices that declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nasiru Gawuna, because the winner of the March 18 election.
In the meantime, Sodique Abubakar of the APC is contesting the attraction court docket and tribunal rulings that upheld the election of Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.
On the continuing on Thursday, counsel for Kano governor, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), urged the apex court docket to reverse his consumer’s sacking, saying the Kano case was the primary time within the annals of electoral jurisprudence that an election was nullified on the grounds that poll papers weren’t signed or stamped on the again.
“The judgment of the decrease courts may be very unfair to the appellant and we urge Your Lordships to overturn it. The difficulty of Abba’s membership of the NNPP is a pre-election matter. The appellate court docket lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter,” Olanipekun argued.
However counsel for the APC, Akin Olujimi (SAN), urged the apex court docket to affirm the decrease courts’ verdicts sacking Yusuf and declaring Gawuna the winner of the ballot.
Countering Olanipekun, Olujimi argued that the Electoral Act mandated INEC’s presiding officers to signal in the back of poll papers.
On the problem of social gathering membership, Olujinmi argued that the NNPP membership register didn’t present the identify of Abba Yusuf on it.
Counsel for INEC, A.B . Mahmoud (SAN), supported the arguments of Olanipekun and urged the court docket to affirm Yusuf because the legitimate winner of the ballot.
The INEC lawyer mentioned the judgments sacking Yusuf had been flawed.
Counsel for the NNPP, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), argued that his consumer shouldn’t be made to endure for the failure of INEC to signal the disputed poll papers.
“My submission is that election is the choice of the folks. The tribunal was improper to recount the ballots in its chambers,” he mentioned.
He urged the apex court docket to revive the 165,165 cancelled votes of Abba Yusuf and affirm his election.
After listening to the events, the apex court docket reserved its judgment to a date to be communicated to events.
On the Bauchi attraction, Abubakar’s lawyer, Jelili Owonikoko (SAN), urged the apex court docket to reverse the decrease court docket’s determination, declaring Governor Mohammed because the winner of the ballot.
However counsel for the governor, Chris Uche (SAN), described the attraction as useless and urged the apex court docket to dismiss it and uphold the victory safety by his consumer on the decrease court docket.
Uche mentioned, “The appellants by no means introduced any witnesses to talk to the electoral paperwork tendered on the tribunal. They didn’t have supplies to help their case. I urge my lords to dismiss this attraction.”
The panel, equally, reserved judgment to a date to be communicated to events.
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