Kano Guber: INEC Joins Yusuf, NNPP in Asking Supreme Court to Reverse Judgments

* As court reserves judgment in Bauchi governorship election 

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday joined Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, and his party the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), to ask the Supreme Court to void the concurrent judgments of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

The electoral umpire argued that the election it conducted was free, fair and credible and that the two lower courts erred in law in voiding results from over 165,000 ballot papers used for the March 18 governorship election in Kano State.

INEC had announced NNPP’s Yusuf as winner of the March 18, 2023 election, having scored 1,019,602 votes to defeat Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who got 890,705 of the votes cast.

However, following APC and Gawuna’s petition, the tribunal held that there was evidence of irregularities and corrupt practices resulting in the cancellation of over 165,000 ballot papers on grounds that the ballot papers “were not signed or stamped by INEC”.

Faulting the judgment of the tribunal, Yusuf approached the appellate court to nullify the judgment and affirm his election as Kano governor. 

However, the Court of Appeal, in its judgment delivered last month, agreed with the decision of the tribunal and dismissed the governor’s appeal for lacking in merit.

Dissatisfied, the governor took his case to the Appeal Court listing several grounds upon which he claimed justices of the appellate court erred in law in arriving at the conclusion that he was not validly elected by the people of Kano State.

When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, the commission rose in defence of the election it conducted in Kano State, insisting that the two lower courts were wrong in quashing and subsequently deducted votes cast at the poll on the grounds that the ballot papers were not signed by INEC.

Its lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), argued that the key witness whose testimony was used in deducting the 165,616 votes of Yusuf was incompetent, on the grounds that being a subpoenaed witness, his testimony ought to have been front loaded and filed alongside the petition, adding that failure to do so rendered his evidence inadmissible.

Besides, he submitted that the said contested 165,616 ballot papers were authentic and originated from INEC and not elsewhere, stressing that it is not the duty of a voter, on the day of election, to check if a ballot paper was signed or stamped and without date of election, adding that that’s the task of a party agent. 

Mahmoud further informed the apex court that the recounting of votes was done privately at the tribunal’s chambers after the deduction of the contested 165,616 votes. 

In addition, the senior lawyer stated that even when they were brought to the Court of Appeal, they weren’t demonstrated, pointing out that only a portion of the said unlawful ballots were examined at the tribunal. 

He however clarified that INEC is not taking sides except with respect to the correct interpretation of the law.

On Yusuf’s membership of the NNPP, Mahmoud noted that the issue is an internal affair of political parties and cannot be determined by the court.

Also arguing, Governor Yusuf through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), submitted that the judgment of the two lower courts was outside the provisions of the electoral laws, adding that this is the first time in the annals of electoral jurisprudence where an election was nullified on the grounds that ballot papers were not signed or stamped at the back.

He said INEC guidelines does not envisage that the courts would nullify an election on the basis of INEC purportedly failing to stamp ballot papers on the back.

“The judgment of the lower courts is very unfair to the appellant and we urge your lordships to upturn it,” Olanipekun said.

While stating that the ballot papers were legal because they were issued by INEC officials, he claimed: “Nobody raised the legality or illegality of the ballots. They tendered the ballot from the bar. Nobody spoke to it.”

The NNPP, through its counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), argued that the said ballot papers were actually cast at the polling units but the APC legal team did not specify the polling units affected at the tribunal in line with the rules of court.

While responding to questions from the panel, Awomolo said ballot papers not signed ought not to affect the validity of an election.

“My submission is that election is the decision of the people,” Awomolo said, insisting that the tribunal was wrong to recount the ballots in its chambers.

The NNPP counsel added that not a single witness told the tribunal that ballot papers were not stamped.

He urged the apex court to restore the 165,165 cancelled votes of Abba Yusuf and affirm his election.

But in a counter argument, the All Progressives Congress (APC) counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi, maintained that the Electoral Act mandates INEC presiding officers to sign the back of ballot papers after the conclusion of the election to make them legal and lawful 

Olujinmi said the findings of the tribunal were simply that the ballot papers were not signed at the back and not dated and proceeded to cancel the election where the ballots were used.

He said electoral irregularities are manifest on the disputed ballot papers.  

On the issue of party membership, Olujinmi argued that the NNPP membership register did not show the name of Abba Yusuf on it.

After lawyers representing parties in the appeals concluded argument on their respective brief, Justice John Okoro, who led the apex court five-member panel announced that judgment has been reserved to a date that would be communicated to parties.

Meanwhile, the apex court also reserved judgment in the appeal against the election of Bala Mohammed as Governor of Bauchi State.

The apex court took the decision after listening to arguments of parties in the case.

A former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (rtd) of the APC, had approached the apex court to challenge the concurrent judgments of the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal which held that Mohammed was the validly elected governor of Bauchi State.

INEC had declared Mohammed and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of the Bauchi governorship election, having scored majority of the lawful votes cast at the poll.

While Mohammed polled 525,280 votes to emerge victorious, Abubakar on the other hand scored 432,272, to emerge second.

Dissatisfied, Abubakar and his party, the APC, which came second at the poll, proceeded to the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the electoral umpire’s declaration.

But his petition was dismissed for lacking in merit, thereby prompting the instant appeal.

However, the appellate court, in its unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations of non-compliance and other irregularities.

In faulting the case of the appellant, the court held that the appellant did not call relevant officials of the electoral umpire, such as supervising and presiding officers to give evidence to prove that the said forms were not filled and why.  

Justice Uwa held that though there were blank spaces in some of the forms produced as evidence, it was not substantial enough to cancel the election because the appellants failed to prove what should have been in those spaces. 

She said: “From the pleadings, the appellants failed to state the specific details which were to be in the alleged forms, that were not output on the forms.”

The judge said the tribunal did a thorough job in evaluating the evidence and that “the evidence of the petitioners were unreliable”.

“This appeal is hereby dismissed as the appellants failed to prove their case,” Justice Uwa said.

Not satisfied, Abubakar and APC lodged their joint appeal at the apex court.