TRIBUNAL VERDICT: TRIBUNAL DISMISSES PETITION AGAINST SOKOTO STATE GOVERNOR 30-09-23
By Sadiq Aminu The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Sokoto has dismissed the petition against Gov. Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state and his Deputy Idris Muhammad Gobir, filed by Sa’idu Umar Ubandoma of Peoples Democratic Party PDP.
The Petitioner is challenging the election of Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress and his Deputy over alleged non qualification and electoral fraud during the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
Delivering the judgement the chairman of the Tribunal Justice Haruna Mshelia, said the Petitioners were unable to proved the six charges in the petition.
He said the charges bordering on alleged ineligibility for Aliyu and Gobir to contest, falsification of certificates, variation of names, election frauds and non compliance with electoral guidelines.
Justice Mashelia said the Petitioners were unable to prove the allegations beyond reasonable double as required by the law pointing out that seventy percent of exhibits were out of context stressing that they are related to State Assembly elections conducted on the same dates.
The leading judge, also pointed out that in order to prove forgery, two different documents of persons needed to be presented .
Also during the cross examination, the presiding judge said three witnesses were not tenable as they were not signatories of the documents from the alleged primary school.
The Tribunal Chairman said the alleged one hundred and eighty three polling units frauds were not adduced to indicate non compliance of the elections processes as presented by the council to the petioner.
The tribunal dismissed all the petitions for lack of merit and failure to prove the allegations by the petitioner.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the judgement, council to the petioner said they would make an appeal in the supreme court.