Appeal Court reserves judgement on Sokoto guber

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Sokoto State, on Tuesday reserved judgement on the March 9 governorship election in the state.

The appeal was filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu, challenging the judgement of the Election Petitions Tribunal delivered on 2nd October, 2019 which upheld the election of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Husseini Mukhtar, reserved the judgement in the main and cross appeals, saying, “the judgement would be ready in a short frame of time which would be communicated to the parties.

Earlier, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, the Lead Counsel of the APC and its gubernatorial candidate, had urged the court to declare Aliyu as the duly elected governor of the state.

In his submission, Izinyon urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgement and findings of the tribunal.

He prayed the court to either return Ahmed Aliyu as elected governor or alternatively order for fresh elections.

However, the Lead Counsels of INEC and Governor Tambuwal, Barrister T.N. Inuwa, SAN and Barrister S. I. Amen, urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.

Aare Olumiyiwa Akinboro, SAN, the Lead Counsel of the PDP, also urged the court to uphold the decision of the tribunal and dismiss the appeal, for lacking in merit.

Meanwhile, Counsels for Tambuwal and the PDP, have filed a cross appeal before the court. Ameh said the cross appeal was against the ruling of the trial tribunal delivered on 2nd October, 2019.

He urged the court to allow the cross appeal and set aside the ruling of the tribunal, as well as make any other consequent orders as itemized.

Ameh wants the court to, among others, disqualify the 1st Petitioner and 2nd Cross Respondent from the gubernatorial elections conducted on 9th and 23rd March, 2019, saying in the first case, “he was not qualified.”

Izinyon, who spoke for the 2nd and 3rd Cross Respondents, urged the court to dismiss the cross appeal.