Adamawa Guber: Court Dismisses Benani’s Declaration Suit

Alex Enumah in AbujaJustice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday dismissed the suit filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed Binani.

The dismissal was sequel to a formal withdrawal by the plaintiff.

Senator Binani had gone to Court to seek judicial review of the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reverse her declaration as winner of the election by the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari.

Recalled that the court had last week temporarily declined to hear Binani’s motion for leave to file the suit until she first addressed the court on whether the court has the jurisdiction to entertain the motion in the first place.

However, when the matter came up Wednesday, Binani’s lawyer, Mr Mohammed Sherif, told the court that he had already filed a notice of discontinuance as directed by the plaintiff.

He therefore prayed the court to strike out the suit.

But, in a short ruling, Justice Ekwo held that the suit was liable for dismissal and accordingly dismissed it.

Senator Binani alongside her party the APC had in the application sought for an order of Prohibition and Certiorari preventing the electoral umpire and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the elections pending the determination of her application for judicial review.

 Sued with the Commission were the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri listed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.

The application was brought pursuant to order 34 Rules 1a, order 3(1) & 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (civil procedure rules) 2019 and Section 251 (1)q & r of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 149 & 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

In the grounds upon which the application was brought, the senator argued that “the only court with power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the Election petition Tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution”.

According to her, after the completion of vote in the supplementary governorship election of April 15, and the subsequent collation of same results, INEC “declared her as the winner of the gubernatorial election and was thereby returned as elected.

The applicants said pursuant to the declaration any dissatisfied candidate is to resort to the tribunal for redress if any.

She faulted the cancellation of her declaration on April 16 based on some crisis caused by the PDP and its candidate Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, stressing that INEC “has no powers to cancel or declare the declaration as been made as null and void”.

Adding that,” INEC after the declaration of Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed as the winner usurped the powers of the Election Petition Tribunal and declare the declaration null and void.

“The 1st respondent does not have the requisite powers to declare an election in which the winner has been declared null and void”.

Binani through her lawyers led by Hussaini Zakariyau, SAN, had submitted that a judicial review exists to enable the superior court checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts as well as the legislative and administrative arm of government including agencies and public officers.

The applicant further added that INEC being an agency of the government can have its actions, records and decisions checked by the court and only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not INEC itself.

However, INEC had since declared Fintiri as the winner of the governorship election having scored majority of the votes cast in the election.