The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, will on Tuesday resume hearing on the appeal file by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Sokoto state, Sai’du Umar, against Governor Ahmed Aliyu of the All Progressive Congress.
Recalled that the three-man Election’s Petitions Tribunal led by Justice Haruna Msheila, in a unanimous judgment delivered on September 30, this year, dismissed the petitions of the PDP, saying the petitioners failed to prove the six grounds formulated in the petition.
He said the grounds bordered on alleged ineligibility for Aliyu and Gobir to contest, falsification of certificates, variation of names, election frauds and non-compliance with electoral guidelines.
He said Petitioners were unable to prove the allegations beyond reasonable double as required by law as 70 per cent of exhibits were out of context because they relate to state assembly elections conducted on the same dates.
According to him, to prove the forgery of two different documents of persons needed to be presented while the variation of names issues was a settled supreme court provision.
He said three subpoena witnesses were not tenable as they were not makers of the documents from the alleged primary school, while the other 28 polling units’ agenda testified could not be produced identify themselves along with their roles.
The Tribunal Chairman said the alleged 138 polling units frauds were not adduced to indicate substantial non-compliance of the elections have marred the election outcome.
Confirming the notice of appeal, the special adviser on media and publicity to the PDP governorship candidate in the March 18 governorship election, Nafiu Lema, while speaking with our correspondent on the telephone.
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