Breaking: Supreme Court rejects SDP’s request to disqualify Yahaya Bello

The Supreme Court has rejected the request by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for nullification of the election of Governor Yahaya Bello.

In a judgment on Monday, a seven-man panel of the court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, unanimously dismissed the appeal by the SDP.

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In the lead judgment led and delivered by Justice Uwani Abba Aji, the Court said it was unnecessary to disturb the concurrent decisions of the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which upheld Bello’s victory at election held on November 16, 2019.

The court held that the SDP and Natasha Akpoti failed to lead credible and substantial evidence to support their claims.

Daily Times Nigeria reports that Akpoti was the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the last governorship election in Kogi State.

The Supreme Court had, in an earlier judgment on Monday, dismissed the appeal by the PDP and its candidate, Musa Wada‎ on similar grounds.

Recall that Governor Bello’s victory had been affirmed at the Kogi Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal on the grounds that Wada and his party failed to prove the allegations of electoral malpractices in their petition.

But Wada last Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to set aside the judgments of the tribunal and that of the court of Appeal and declare him the winner of the election or order a fresh poll.

While arguing his position, the PDP candidate, through his lawyers, told the panel of Supreme Court panel hearing his appeal last Tuesday that the judgments of the appellate court should be set aside on the grounds that the Court of Appeal discarded evidence of rigging and violence in seven local government areas of the state.

The PDP and Wada were also hopeful that the Supreme Court will uphold the minority judgment of Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele which annulled the November election and ordered a rerun at seven local government areas of the State over allegation of vote-rigging at the tribunal level.

The tribunal, in a majority judgment delivered by Justice Kashim Kaigama, had upheld the election of Yahaya Bello, as it said the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of vote-rigging.

But in her minority judgment, Justice Ovbiagele held that there was evidence of electoral malpractices in seven LGAs of the state.

She, therefore, annulled the APC candidate’s victory in the election while ordering a rerun in the seven local government areas of the state.