Adamawa Guber: APC’s Binani Loses Appeal against Fintiri’s Election

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, Monday, dismissed the appeal filed by Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC), challenging the election of People’s Democratic Party (PDP’s), Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, as governor of Adamawa State.

The appellate court in a unanimous judgment dismissed the appeal for being incompetent and lacking in merit and subsequently affirmed the declaration of Fintiri as winner of the March 18 governorship election in Adamawa State.

According to the lead judgment prepared by Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awoture, the appellant did not prove their petition as required by law at the tribunal and the lower tribunal was right in dismissing the said petition.

It was the findings of the appellate court that the appellant’s brief was incompetent, having being filed prematurely.

The appellate court also held that the record of appeal used in challenging the judgment of the tribunal was incomplete thereby making the appeal incompetent, adding that the appellant abandoned the petition at the lower tribunal and presented inconclusive evidence to prove allegations of non-compliance.

While faulting the appellant for dumping documents before the court, the appellate court held that the witnesses called by the petitioners/ appellants were not only inappropriate but not relevant.

The appellate court subsequently upheld the judgment of the tribunal affirming the election of Fintiri as governor of Adamawa State.

It slammed a cost of N500k against the appellant in favour of the 2nd and 3rd respondents.

The Adamawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had in a judgment delivered by Justice T. O. Uloho, dismissed the petition of Binani and the APC on the grounds that it, “woefully failed to establish their allegations of non- compliance with the electoral act and prove their case with cogent, credible and satisfactory evidence.”

INEC Returning Officer, Muhammed Mele, had declared Fintiri of the PDP winner of the governorship poll, after polling, 430,861 votes to defeat his major counterpart Aisha Binani of the All Progressives Congress who polled 398,788.

The tribunal further held that the court is an adjudicator and not an investigator, saying that all the petitioners’ witnesses came with documentary hearsay and failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.

Dissatisfied, Binani and the APC had approached the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal and declare them as authentic winner of the Adamawa State governorship election.