The Appeal Court in Abuja has overturned the State Election Petitions Tribunal’s dismissal of Abdulahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State.
The Tribunal, led by Ezekiel Ajayi, was found to have committed a major error by relying on underoath witness statements
rather than front-loading them as required by law, leading to unfair conclusion that the governor’s election should be void.
This was decided by the Appellate Court. The Court of Appeal declared that no petition may be validly amended beyond the legally permitted 21-day period.
It was decided that the Tribunal’s remarks were unlawful and of no probative value for a court to consider.
The accusations that were used to void the election were rejected by the court on the grounds that they were not supported by the evidence.
Judge Onyemenam declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for governorship to have filed a nullity and invalid petition, citing the Tribunal’s unconstitutional disregard of the governor’s jurisdictional concerns.
Sule was recognised as the state’s legitimately elected governor by the Appeal Court, which overturned all decisions made against him and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
