The PUNCH reports that the state election petitions tribunal had, on October 2, sacked Sule of the All Progressives Congress and declared David Ombugadu of the PDP as the winner of the election.
However, the appellate court, on Thursday, held that the tribunal acted wrongly when it re-computed votes and made the declaration that returned the PDP candidate as the winner of the election, thereby affirming Sule as the state governor.
While speaking at the end of a peaceful protest held against the judgment in Lafia, the state capital, on Tuesday, the PDP women leader in the state, Stella Oboshi, urged the apex court to thoroughly look into the appeal court’s judgment in the interest of upholding the ideals of democracy in Nigeria.
She lamented that the judgment fell short of real democratic principles that govern the nation while expressing worry over the decision of the appeal court which seemed to shield the insincerity of the Independent National Electoral Commission in its declaration of Sule as the duly elected governor of the state.
She said, “We wish to highlight specific instances of irregularities that were overlooked by the court under the guise of technicalities. In the Gayam ward of Lafia Local Government Area, for instance, the total number of accredited voters was recorded as 13,000, while an astonishing 33,000 votes were given to the APC alone.
“Similarly, in the Chiroma ward, the number of accredited voters was documented as 21,000, but INEC announced a staggering 59,000 votes solely for the APC.
“We firmly believe that it is the responsibility of our judiciary to uphold the principles of justice, fairness, and merit in all its judgments. In this particular case, the lack of a thorough investigation into the glaring irregularities is an affront to these principles. It undermines the trust of the people in our justice system.
“It is, therefore, essential that the judiciary, as a pillar of democracy, does not inadvertently provide a platform for the perpetration of electoral injustice.”
Oboshi also expressed displeasure over the undue brutalisation of some women supporters of the party on Monday by security personnel in the state.
She, therefore, urged the security agencies to desist from harassing members and supporters of the party, while reiterating that they (supporters) had carried out their protests peacefully.
She said, “We have been demonstrating peacefully for over six months since the declaration of Governor Abdullahi Sule by INEC as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state. We have never destroyed anything or shown any act of disobedience to the laws of the country.
“We feel who we voted for was not the person INEC announced and we want justice to prevail, but to our greatest surprise, on Monday security agents brutalized some of our women for embarking on a peaceful protest. Those injured are currently receiving treatment in a hospital.
“I am calling on the security agencies to protect the women and not attack them because their intention for embarking on the peaceful protest is to seek justice, not to foment any form of trouble in the state.”
