The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, overturned the annulment of Governor Abdullahi Sule’s election in Nasarawa State. Justice Uchechukwu Onuemenam, delivering the lead verdict, stated that the tribunal had relied on legally inadmissible evidence in declaring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, David Ombugadu, as the rightful winner of the March 18 governorship election.
The appellate court emphasized that the tribunal erroneously considered the statements of eight witnesses presented by the PDP candidate, as these statements were not submitted alongside the petition within the stipulated time, violating constitutional and electoral provisions.
Citing Section 285(5) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 132(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and Paragraphs 4(5) (6) and 14(2) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, the court highlighted the mandatory requirement to file written statements on oath with the petition within the designated timeframe.
The Court of Appeal proceeded to expunge all evidence and exhibits from the eight witnesses presented before the tribunal. It reasoned that the remaining 12 witnesses failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the tribunal’s judgment.
Furthermore, the appellate court criticized the tribunal for deducting 1,868 votes from Governor Sule, alleging over-voting in four polling units without proper documentation. It noted the absence of a demonstration on how the alleged over-voting occurred and criticized the tribunal for summarily dismissing evidence presented by witnesses for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
The court termed the tribunal’s recomputation of votes and declaration of the PDP candidate as the winner as erroneous. Consequently, the appeal was deemed meritorious, and the tribunal’s majority judgment delivered on October 2 was dismissed. The court also lifted the order instructing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Governor Sule.