Category: Judiciary

Appeal Court upholds election of Bauchi Rep member Jafaru Leko

Abuja: The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the election of Rep Jafaru Leko as member representing Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency of Bauchi State in the House of Representatives.

The three-member panel, presided by Justice Lawal Shuaibu, dismissed the appeal filed by Kefas Magaji of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the grounds that it lacked merit.

The court held that the petitioners (Magaji and PDP) failed to prove their case on the preponderance of evidence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (NAN) had declared Leko of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the Feb. 25 general election into the federal constituency seat.

Dissatisfied with the victory, Magaji and the PDP filed a petition challenging Leko’s declaration.
But the National and State Houses of Assembly Elections Tribunal dismissed the petition.

The petitioners proceeded to the Court of Appeal via Appeal No: CA/J/EPT/BA/HR/05/2023 between Barrister Kefas M. Magaji and PDP Vs. Jafaru Gambo Leko, APC and INEC.

Delivering the judgment on Friday, the Appeal Court agreed with the submission of Mr Johnson Usman, SAN, counsel to Leko, that the trial tribunal was right when it dismissed the petition.

The court, which wondered while most of the witnesses presented by the petitioners testified in Hausa Language while their witness statements were made in English, consequently dismissed the appeal and upheld that Jafaru Leko was the winner of the poll.

Speaking to NAN on the outcome of the appeal, Mr Usman said the decision was a victory for democracy.

The senior lawyer said that the court was right when it affirmed the decision of the trial court by holding that the petitioners/appellants failed in its entirety to prove their case both at trial and on appeal.

Mr Israel Usman, lawyer to the petitioner, declined to comment on the development.
He simply said: “Until my client ask me to speak before I can make a comment about the judgment.”(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) /Flowerbudnews

September 19, 2023
Court dismisses Bulkachuwa’s suit seeking to stop ICPC, DSS, from investigating him

Abuja: A Federal High Court Abuja, on Tuesday, dismissed the suit filed by Sen. Adamu Bulkachuwa seeking to stop the ICPC from investigating him over the comment he made during the valedictory session of the 9th National Assembly (NASS).

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, held that the suit lacked merit and ought to be dismissed.
Justice Ekwo said that Bulkachuwa, being a lawmaker, ought to understand the implication of the statement that he made on the floor of the Senate.

According to him, the legislative immunity which the plaintiff (Bulkachuwa) claims in this case does not avail him.

“It is the duty of every law-abiding citizen to assist and cooperate with law enforcement agencies in their quest to carry out their statutory function.

“It is only where a law enforcement agency breaches the fundamental right of a citizen in the process of carrying out their statutory function, then a cause of action could be said to have arisen,” the judge said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bulkachuwa had sued the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the NASS clerk, State Security Service, ICPC and the Nigeria Police Force as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.

The plaintiff asked the court to declare that he “is covered, privileged and protected by the parliamentary immunity as enshrined in Section 1 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017 and freedom of speech and expression made thereto is privileged.”

He also prayed the court to declare that without exhausting the internal disciplinary mechanism, recommendations and approval of the 9th House of Senate, no other law enforcement agent of the Federal Government, including the defendants can invite any member of the Senate for questioning/interview.

Justice Ekwo said the utterance made by Bulkachuwa on the floor of the Debate on June 10 was not covered by Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

”The provision is that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

According to the judge, the clear words of Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) cannot be interpreted to mean that a person can say anything he likes.

“In a formal setting like that plenary session or committee proceedings of the Senate, It is not expected-a person who is privileged to voice any expression will utter words or express opinion or impart Ideas or gives’ Information that cannot be defended under the constitution.

“Upon studying the provision of Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), it Is my opinion, that the words uttered by the plaintiff on the floor of the Senate on Saturday, 10th June, 2023 was a confession of doing an act that is prohibited by law.

“When a person confesses that he influenced a judicial officer to help his friends and colleagues, such a person has gone beyond the limit of freedom of speech that is reasonably covered and protected by the provision of Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“A person who has used the opportunity given to him by the constitution to express himself freely and uses the opportunity to expose his actions or conduct which the law of the land criminalises, has unwittingly invited law enforcement agencies to question him.

“This is what the plaintiff did in this case.
“I therefore find that that the speech of the plaintiff on the floor of the Senate on June 10, was a confession of illegal act and Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) cannot be invoked to cover such and I so hold,” he declared.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews

Details later

September 19, 2023
Tribunal dismisses APC petition against Gov. Lawal of Zamfara

By Habibu Harisu

The Zamfara Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Monday dismissed the petition filed against the state governor, Dauda Lawal by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Bello Matawalle.

The Tribunal Chairperson, Justice Cordelia Ogadi, who led two other members, dismissed the petition for lack of merit and inability of the petitioners to prove their case as required by law.

The tribunal held that the petitioners also failed to prove allegation of irregularities during the polls and awarded N500,000 cost to be paid by the petitioners to each of the three respondents.

The respondents to the petition are; Lawal, his party, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Matawalle, the immediate past governor of the state and his party, APC had filed the petition against the respondents contending that the governorship election was marred with irregularities and Lawal did not score majority of lawful votes.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Ogadi held that the petitioners were unable to prove allegations of over voting and other malpractices, stressing that the burden of proof was solely on the petitioners.

She said that the petitioners were also unable to prove allegations of substantial non-compliance of the poll to the provisions of the electoral act that would affect the overall outcome of its result.

According to her, all the arguments were considered and the case decided based on the constitutional requirements as well as the provisions of the electoral laws.

She therefore dismissed the petition for lack of merit and awarded the cost against the petitioners.

The petitioners had alleged that the March 18 governorship election was flawed with irregularities and sought the tribunal’s order nullifying the return of Lawal as winner of the poll by INEC.

They also sought the order of the court declaring Matawalle winner of the said election on the ground that he scored the majority of the lawful votes.

The petitioners prayed the Tribunal to mandate INEC to issue Matawalle Certificate of Return and further orders necessary. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng) /Flowerbudnews

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

September 18, 2023
Appeal Court sacks Ndudi Elumelu, affirms LP candidate winner of Reps seat in Delta

Abuja: The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, set aside the judgment of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba which declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the Feb. 25 election for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State.

The appellate court, in two judgments, declared Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party (LP) as winner of the election.

The Appeal Court faulted the tribunal for voiding Okolie’s election and proceeded to dismiss the petition filed by Elumelu before the trial tribunal on which the voided judgment was given.

It agreed with the lawyer to the Labour Party, Mahmud Magaji, SAN, that contrary to the findings of the tribunal, Okolie was duly nominated, sponsored by his party and that he resigned his appointment as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Delta State Government as required by the constitution.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) /Flowerbudnews

Details later …

September 14, 2023
PEPC’s judgment: It’s time for governance and healing, says ex-lawmaker

Abuja: A former member of the House of Representatives, Robinson Uwak, says it is time for President Bola Tinubu-led government to embark on reconciliation following the victory at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

Uwak, who represented Oron, Mbo, Okobo, Ure-Offong/Oruko and Udung-Uko Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom at the 7th Assembly, made the call on Sunday in a statement in Abuja
The ex-lawmaker congratulated the president and his team, saying, “the judgment has cleared doubts about the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.”

He appealed to the government to explore more opportunities for reconciliation and a broad development coalition in the interest of the country.

Uwak further advised the government to embark on projects that would accelerate the development of the country and enhance the living standards of the people.

Examining the economic situation in the country, he advised the government to spend its way out of the situation by embarking on capital projects.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led presidential election tribunal had, on Wednesday, affirmed President Tinubu’s victory at the Feb. 25 presidential election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
NAN reports that in its over-12-hour-long judgment, the panel of judges led by Tsammani dismissed all three petitions challenging Mr Tinubu’s election in his lead judgement.

The rest of the members of the panel – Stephen Adah, Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf (the only female on the bench), Moses Ugo, and Abbah Mohammed – took their turns to also adopt the reasoning and conclusion of the lead judgment .

The petitioners were Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was declared as the first runner-up in the election; Peter Obi of the Labour Party, the second runner-up, and the All Peoples Movement (APM).

The panel unanimously stressed the total lack of credible evidence adduced by the petitioners to support their cases and described some of the legal arguments of Atiku and Obi as “fallacious and ridiculous”.

“From the foregoing, therefore, it is very clear and certain that the petitioners have failed to prove that the 2023 presidential election and the return of the 2nd respondent (Tinubu) was invalidated by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022,” Tsammani declared.

The declaration came at a point in the unusually drawn-out proceeding when members of the members of the audience in the packed courtroom had reduced by almost half. (INEC).(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews

September 10, 2023
PEPT judgment is reflection of wishes of majority of Nigerians –Ngwu, South-East APC stalwart

By Flowerbudnews
Enugu: Chief Hycienth Ngwu, former South-East Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), says that “Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) judgment is a reflection of wishes of majority of Nigerians”.

Ngwu said this to journalists in Enugu on Thursday while reacting to the PEPT Judgment which reaffirms the victory of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the Feb. 18, 2023, Presidential Election.

He said that the judgment remained a testimony to the fact that electoral and judicial processes had made it clear that President Tinubu clearly won the election without any ambiguity or doubt.

Acceding to him, it is clear to all that President Tinubu clearly won the election in “a fair and square manner”.

“It has been a divine mandate all the way. The judgment clearly shows that President Tinubu emergence is a manifestation of the will of God,” he said.

Ngwu, who is a foundation member of APC, urged all Nigerians, even members of the opposition, to give Tinubu a chance to actualise his divine mandate and vision for the country.

“All Nigerians, even our brothers and sisters in the opposition parties, should give him (Tinubu) a chance in his agenda, which he captured as “Renewed Hope” in order to set the country on good and solid footing.

“We can see and feel what he did in Lagos State as a governor and the same he wants to replicate in the entire country,” he said.

The APC chieftain also called on the organised labour to give Tinubu a chance as the fuel subsidy removal and recent uniformed foreign exchange rate policy were decisions taken in the best interest of millions Nigerians.

He said that the issue of strikes and more strike calls was never in the best interest of millions of Nigerians.

“Rather, strikes and industrial actions further put more pains on the masses even as the various tiers of governments were committed and looking for ways to cushion the hardship.

“The organised labour should show understanding, restrain and stop the use of strikes as President Tinubu means well and with clear positive intentions towards Nigerians,” he added.

It would be recalled that President Tinubu defeated and floored Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) at the PEPT on Wednesday. (Flowerbudnews)

September 9, 2023
Rep Nnamchi rejects tribunal judgment, heads to Appeal Court

Enugu: Prof. Paul Nnamchi, House of Representative Member representing Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal constituency, has rejected the judgment of the three-man panel of the National Assembly Election Tribunal at its sitting in Enugu.

It would be recalled that the panel of the National Assembly Election Tribunal, on Friday, nullified the election of Nnamchi of the Labour Party (LP); while declaring the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the election.

This is contained in a press statement issued by Nnamchi through his Media Adviser, Mr Sam Nwanze, shortly after the judgment.

Nnamchi said that the “verdict does not conform to the provisions of the law and expectation of his teeming supporters”.

According to him, I am not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal which to me is not in accordance with the provisions of the law and expectation of my teeming supporters.

“Consequently, I have instructed my lawyers to proceed to appeal the matter at the Appeal Court which has the final say on the case and I am confident we will get justice at the Appeal Court.

“My confidence in the judiciary is not shaken by this judgment.

“I am hopeful justice will be served at the next level and the current verdict will be overturned at the appellate court.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to my teeming supporters to remain calm as we are hopeful to reclaim the mandate at the Appeal Court,” he said.

Nnamchi also used this opportunity to appreciate all his supporters who had called to show solidarity and those who might not reach him.

“I can assure you all of my resolve to defend the mandate freely given to me through your votes by fighting to the end. It is not yet over. God bless you all,” he added. (Flowerbudnews)

September 9, 2023
In democracy, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose – ex-Enugu APC Chair

By Flowerbudnews

Enugu: Dr Ben Nwoye, former Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, has advised politicians aggrieved over the outcome of Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) judgment to seek redress at the Supreme Court.

Nwoye gave the advice while speaking to newsmen on Thursday in Enugu over the PEPT Judgment which reaffirms the victory of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the Feb. 18, 2023, Presidential Election.

He said: “The candidates and supporters of the opposition parties should never take laws into their hands.

“The beauty and lesson of democracy is that “sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

“No one should resort to violence or instigation of the people against the government or her institutions because the outcome of the Presidential election judgment did not favour his or her party.

“The Supreme Court is a veritable option for appeal by anyone aggrieved or not happy with the outcome of the PEPT judgment and not calling people out into the streets”.

According to him, no one has the right to truncate our hard earned democracy because a judgment did not favour him, his supporters or political party.

Nwoye, a founding member of APC, noted that those who lost in the tribunal, both in facts and evidence, should obey the sound judgment of the PEPT.

“Those that submitted themselves to the judiciary process and system should also submit themselves to the judicial outcome.

“The opposition should stop abusing the judiciary but submit to the painstaking sound judgment the judiciary delivered on Wednesday,” he cautioned.

On the reaffirmed victory of President Tinubu, Nwoye said that the judgment was clear and convincing to all sound minds in the entire nation.

“The victory of President Bola Tinubu is the will of the people and a victory for democracy.

“Nobody wins 100 per cent in any given election, even in advanced democracies such as the U.S. and Great Britain.

“The opposition parties should do well by congratulating President Tinubu and join hands with the ruling APC-led government to move Nigeria forward,” he added.

It would be recalled that President Tinubu defeated and floored Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) at the PEPT on Wednesday. (Flowerbudnews)

September 9, 2023
PEPC: Why we are out in support of Tinubu–Asari Dokubo

Abuja: A Niger Delta Leader, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, on Wednesday, said his group came out to show solidarity with President Bola Tinubu because the petitions against him were frivolous and lacked substance.

Dokubo spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) outside the premises of the Appeal Court Headquarters, Abuja, venue of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC).

The ex-militant, who gathered with his group, the Ijaw Youths for BAT in collaboration with National APC Supporters Centre and Northern Youths Network for Asiwaju, along the Shehu Shagari Way directly opposite the Head of Service Building, said he was hopeful that the case would be decided in their favour.

“We are here to show our presence in the court. We know that the case will be decided in our favour.

“The case is frivolous; they don’t have any substance in their case.

“But if you don’t come, they will come here and start to misbehave. And that is why we came.
“You have seen the overwhelming majority (pointing to members of his group); you can’t find them anywhere,” he said.

According to him, President Tinubu has been with me in my most trying period, and this is the time for me to pay back.

When asked what he would do if the outcome.of the judgment did not favour his candidate, Dokubo simply said: “We know our case and we know that it will go in our favour.”

He said whichever way the pendulum of the judgment swings, “All Nigerians should come together and work for the good of the country.”

NAN reports that some of the placards carried by members of the groups had inscriptions like: “On Tinubu’s Mandate, We the Citizens Stand,”“Thank You President Tinubu for Restoring the Niger Delta Ministry,” “President Tinubu Loves the Niger Delta,” “The Office of the Citizens is Supreme, the Citizens Have Spoken, On Tinubu’s Mandate, We the Citizens Stand!!!,” among others.

NAN reports that the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) are challenging the election victory of Tinubu in the Feb. 25 presidential poll conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews

September 7, 2023