The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday refrained from delivering a verdict on the appeal lodged by Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule against the tribunal’s decision that declared David Ombugadu, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, as the winner of the state’s governorship election.
In a split judgment, the tribunal, presided over by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, determined that Ombugadu secured the majority of valid votes in the election based on evidence from various polling units. Governor Sule contested this ruling, urging the appellate court to overturn it.
During the hearing, Governor Sule’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, argued that the tribunal misapplied the law in reaching its decision. Olanipekun contended that the tribunal erroneously relied on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine as evidence without a proper demonstration by the petitioners or the court. He further asserted that the tribunal failed to find evidence of overvoting in the INEC Form EC8AS submitted by the petitioners but still nullified his client’s election.
Contrarily, Kanu Agabi SAN, the lawyer representing the PDP candidate, maintained that the tribunal properly analyzed the contents of the BVAS, contrary to Olanipekun’s submissions. Agabi argued that if a court examines exhibits before it, its judgment cannot be deemed unfair. Despite time constraints preventing Agabi from presenting additional arguments, he urged the court to dismiss the appeal.
The Court of Appeal chose to reserve judgment on the matter, leaving the final outcome of the Nasarawa governorship case pending.