- According to a notice of judgment shared by Muhammad Lema, the Special Assistant on Media to the PDP candidate, the court is scheduled to deliver its decision by 3 pm on Monday
The Court of Appeal in Abuja is set to announce its judgment on Monday regarding the appeal lodged against the State Election Petitions Tribunal’s decision that upheld Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s election in Sokoto State.
Sai’du Umar, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the March 18 governorship election, contested Aliyu’s declaration as governor, citing irregularities among other concerns.
According to a notice of judgment shared by Muhammad Lema, the Special Assistant on Media to the PDP candidate, the court is scheduled to deliver its decision by 3 pm on Monday.
“Take notice that APPEAL NO, CA/S/EP/GOV/SK/30/2023: SAIDU UMAR & ANR VS. ALIYU AHMED SOKOTO & 3. ORS is coming up before the Court of Appeal Headquarters Abuja Division for judgment on Monday, the 27th day of November 2023 at 3.00 pm,” the notice read.
The three-man Election’s Petitions Tribunal led by Justice Haruna Msheila in a unanimous judgment delivered on September 30, dismissed the petition of the PDP, saying the petitioners failed to prove the six grounds formulated in the petition.
He said the grounds bordered on alleged ineligibility for Aliyu and Gobir to contest, falsification of certificates, variation of names, election frauds and noncompliance with electoral guidelines.
He said petitioners were unable to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt as required by law as 70 percent of of exhibits were out of context because they relate to State Assembly elections conducted on the same dates.
According to him, to prove forgery, two different documents of persons needed to be presented while the variation of names issues was settled by Supreme Court provisions.
He said three witnesses were not tenable as they were not makers of the documents from the alleged primary school while the other 28 polling unit agents who testified could not identify themselves along with their roles.
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