Sai’du Umar, the Sokoto State governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, has lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging the decisions of the Elections Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, both of which upheld Ahmed Aliyu’s victory as the state governor.
Quest Times learned that Umar and the PDP, in their appeal comprising nine grounds, argued that the Court of Appeal’s judgment is inconsistent with the available evidence and should be overturned by the Supreme Court.
The appeal, filed by a legal team led by Mr. Sunday Ameh, SAN, questions the tribunal’s dismissal of allegations related to irregularities and non-compliance.
Moreover, the appellate court in a unanimous decision, ruled last month that the appellants failed to substantiate claims of irregularities.
Justice Mbaba Bassi, delivering the lead judgment, emphasized the importance of presenting competent witnesses and criticized the appellants for not listing and front-loading witness statements.
Also, the appellants had presented INEC’s form EC40G, indicating canceled elections due to issues like over-voting or disruptions.
The appellate court noted that while this form suggested problems during voting, the failure to call additional witnesses was deemed a flaw in the case.
Justice Bassi highlighted the need for oral evidence to support allegations of vote manipulation.
Earlier, the election petitions tribunal had, on September 30, unanimously dismissed the PDP’s petitions, citing the failure to prove six formulated grounds.
The tribunal, led by Justice Haruna Msheila, noted that allegations of ineligibility, certificate falsification, and election fraud lacked substantial evidence.
The tribunal also emphasized that a significant portion of the exhibits was irrelevant, relating to State Assembly elections held concurrently.
In addition, the tribunal chairman clarified that proving forgery required presenting two distinct documents, while the variation of names issue was settled by a Supreme Court provision.
The tribunal found subpoena witnesses and testimony related to alleged fraud in 138 polling units insufficient to demonstrate substantial non-compliance with election guidelines.