S’Court Affirms Election of Kefas Agbu as Taraba Governor

* Dismisses Yahaya Sani’s appeal

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the election of Governor Kefas Agbu of Taraba State.

A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Garba Lawal, affirmed the election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) candidate, shortly after dismissing the appeal filed by Yahaya Sani of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

Justice Lawal pointed out that the appellants did not provide any tangible evidence to show that the two judgments of the Court of Appeal and Taraba Governorship Election Petition Tribunal were perverse in dismissing their case.

According to Justice Lawal, the Court of Appeal was right in holding that the case of the appellants was incompetent on grounds of incomplete transmission of the record of proceedings.

The apex court subsequently affirmed the concurrent judgments that affirmed the declaration of Agbu as winner of the March 18, 2023, governorship election in Taraba State.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja had in November 2023 affirmed the election of PDP’s Kefas Agbu as Governor of Taraba State.

A three-member panel of the appellate court, in two separate appeals, held that Agbu was lawfully declared winner of the March 18 governorship election in Taraba State.

Delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Prof. Yahaya Sani of the NNPP, the appellate court had held that the allegations of non-compliance, irregularities and other malpractices were not proved by the appellant. 

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Peter Affen, the appellate court faulted the appellant for dumping documents on the court, stressing that even if there was manifest incidents of malpractices or irregularities on the face of the documents, the appellant ought to have led oral evidence to support his allegations. 

Besides, the court had dismissed the appeal for being incompetent and lacking in merit on grounds that the record of proceedings transmitted to the appellate court was not complete.

Earlier, delivering judgment in the cross appeal filed by the governor, the court struck out the appeal on the grounds that the petitioner was inconsistent in the reliefs sought in his petition. 

According to the appellate court, while the appellants had prayed for nullification of the election on grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, they in another breath asked the court to pronounce them as winners of the same election on ground of scoring majority of lawful votes.

The court held that it is against the law for any litigant as in the case of NNPP and its governorship candidate to blow hot and cold at the same time. 

Justice Affen further held that having prayed that the election be nullified on account of non adherence with the Electoral Act, the alternative prayer that they be declared winner of the same election have no legs to stand upon. 

The appellate court subsequently allowed the cross appeal and struck out the petition.

A three-man panel of justices led by Justice G. A. Sunmonu of the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had, on September 30, 2023 dismissed the petition filed by the NNPP and its governorship candidate for lacking in merit.