Appeal Court nullifies APC primaries in Zamfara

…CUPP hails court ruling

Andrew Orolua, Abuja

The Court of Appeal Sokoto Division on Monday in unanimous judgment set aside the order of Zamara State High Court, Gusau that allowed the All Progressives Congress (APC) to field candidates in the 2019 elections.

The appellate nullified the decision of the lower Court for its failure to evaluate evidences before arriving at its decision in suit filed by Kabiru Liman-Danalhaji and 139 others against the APC, Senator Kabiru Marafa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream); and 129 others.

Delivering lead judgment, Justice Tom Yakubu, held that the lower court failed in its duty to properly evaluate the evidence before it.

Judges, he held, “have the legal power to produce judgment and reach decisions with reason,” noting that “in the instance case, it was not done. I am convinced that the lower court has failed to evaluate the evidence before reaching the decision.”

“The Appeal Court has power in law to access pieces of evidence on appeal, which we have done.

“Based on available facts, the respondents did not contradict the INEC evidence on conducting the said primary election,” Yakubu said.

The presiding justice, added that “documented evidence has upper consideration than oral ones.”

Justice Yakubu held that the plaintiffs, being card-carrying party members and aspirants in the said election have locus to bring the action.

The court agreed that the judgment should serve as “bitter lesson for political parties as they ought to follow legitimate guidelines and rules. Domestic affairs of political party activities must act within the confines of the law in dealing with party members and elections.”

Two other justices on the panel: Justice Tijjani Abubakar and Justices Tijjani Abubakar and Jamilu Tukur agreed with the lead judgment.

It would be recalled that a Zamfara High Court recognised the APC primary election that produced governorship, state and National Assembly candidates on the eve of the election, forcing INEC which had earlier declared that APC had no candidate in Zamfara State to accept them for the election.

Dissatisfied with state high court decision, the appellants approached the Appeal Court, challenging the decision on the ground that the state high court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, among others.

The Daily Times also recalls that similar case was instituted before the same Appeal Court by Rep. Aminu Jaji, a governorship aspirant and member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency and it was dismissed after Jaji withdrew.

The appellate court decision is coming two weeks after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mukhtar Shehu of the APC as the winner of March 9, governorship election in Zamfara State.

The Returning Officer for Zamfara State, Professor Kabiru Bala, declared Shehu of the APC as the winner on March 11, stating that Shehu scored 534, 541 votes to defeat his rival from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bello Muhammad, who polled 189, 452 votes.

In the light of the Court of Appeal judgment, it was not certain on Monday whether the opposition political party will approach the tribunal to declare its candidate winner of the election.

Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has hailed Monday’s judgement which nullified the primaries of the APC in Zamfara State.

Similarly, CUPP commended the court for its ruling vacating its earlier order restricting INEC from continuing the collation of governorship election result from Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, saying the development had opened the room for official declaration of the winner of Bauchi State governorship election.

In a statement by its spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, CUPP said with the court’s decision, gradually the house of political injustice that the APC built will collapse on their head.

Recall that the Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto State, led by Justice Tom Yakubu, set aside the judgement of a Zamfara High Court on the All Progressives Congress primary election that produced the party’s candidates for the governorship, national and state assembly elections.”

Speaking on the Bauchi governorship case, CUPP said: “The road is now clear for the official declaration of Senator Bala Mohammed as the people’s governor-elect for Bauchi State.

“This ruling is a huge victory for our constitutional democracy and an end to the shameful attempts by enemies of our constitutional governance to use the court to ambush and deny the Bauchi people their constitutional right to see the man they elected sworn in as their governor.

“The Buhari APC shameful legacy of attempting to use the court to halt constitutional electoral process must be condemned by all Nigerians, “he said.