A federal high court in Abuja has
dismissed a suit filed by Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru seeking to be affirmed as the
winner of the Adamawa state governorship election.
Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge,
dismissed the suit at the court session on Wednesday following a notice of
discontinuance filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate through
her lawyer.
Mohammed Sheriff, Binani’s
counsel, had asked the court to strike out the suit.
However, the judge held that the
lawyer failed to address the court on the issue of jurisdiction as ordered on
April 18.
Consequently, Ekwo said the
appropriate order would be to dismiss the suit.
THE ADAMAWA GUBER SAGA
The Adamawa governorship
supplementary election was conducted on April 15 following the declaration of
the March 18 poll as inconclusive over alleged irregularities.
After voting ended, the collation
of results began at the state collation centre — but the exercise was suspended
after results from 10 LGAs were announced.
However, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the
resident electoral commissioner, declared Binani as the winner before the
collation resumed on April 16.
Yunusa-Ari made the declaration
when outstanding results were yet to be announced.
The Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) subsequently described his action as null and void.
The electoral body said the
declaration of a winner is the responsibility of the returning officer.
BINANI HEADS TO COURT
Subsequently, Binani approached
the court with an ex-parte motion.
Binani applied for leave of the
court to allow her to seek “an order of prohibition and certiorari removing to
this court for the purpose of being set aside the administrative decision of
the 1st respondent made on 16th April 2023 in respect of the declaration of the
winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa state held on the 18th of
March, 2023 and the supplementary election held on 15th April, 2023”.
The APC candidate also requested
an order “preventing the 1st respondent, its agent, assign or any person acting
on its behalf from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the
winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa state held on the 18th of
March and the supplementary election held on 15th April 2023, pending the
determination of the application for judicial review”.
She claimed that the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, resorted to stirring
violence after she was declared the winner.
She averred that INEC staff were
caught up in the violence and were manhandled which caused the electoral
commission to cancel the initial declaration.
Binani also submitted that INEC
lacks the power to cancel an election result as such power is constitutionally
vested in the election petition tribunal.
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Yes that is a good move. She is now at liberty to prepare well to take back her mandate at the tribunal
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