Daily Gazette correspondent who is currently in Supreme Court reports that there is tight security in and out of the apex court.

As at the time of filling this report, lawyers, stakeholders of the concerned political parties are making entry into the venue as the legal battle over who won the February 25 presidential election will be over today.

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The candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi respectively are challenging the outcome of the poll that produced President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Presidential Election Petitions Court had, on September 6, dismissed Atiku and Obi’s petitions for lack of evidence, but the duo later filed appeals.

Atiku and Obi, through their lawyers, Chris Uche and Livy Uzoukwu respectively, had, on Monday, argued their cases before the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Inyang Okoro; while the appeal of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and its presidential candidate, Chichi Ojei, through their counsel, Chukwuma Maachukwu-Ume, was dismissed after they withdrew it. Atiku and Obi’s appeals were predicated on four major grounds.

These included whether the use of technology in the transmission and the collation of results was mandatory; whether Sections 134(2)(b), 2(2), 3(1) and 299 of the Nigerian Constitution made it mandatory for the president to score 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Other grounds were whether the president’s forfeiture of $460,000 to a United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois disqualifies him from seeking the office under Section 137(1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and whether the president was disqualified as a result of double nomination of his running mate.

There was an additional issue raised by Atiku on whether leave could be granted admitting fresh evidence being depositions on Tinubu’s academic records from the Chicago State University.

Atiku and his party had also contended that the lower court was wrong in expunging some paragraphs of their petition and witnesses’ statements on oath in aid of their petition on the grounds that they were subpoenaed during the trial and not frontloaded along with the petition.

They had also contended that the panel’s use of “disparaging words” in dealing with their petition as provided by the Revised Code for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, promulgated by the National Judicial Council was a miscarriage of justice.

“The lower court was wrong in striking out paragraphs of the petition and replies of the appellants; the lower court sacrificed substantial justice on the altar of technicalities,” Atiku’s lawyer had argued.

Obi, on his part, had submitted that the lower court erred for rejecting his evidence of 18,088 certified blurred polling unit results, including 8,123 blurred and blank copies of unreadable images produced by INEC, which specifically comprised hundreds of results from Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi and others.

In their replies, Tinubu and the APC, through their lawyers, SANs Wole Olanipekun and Akin Olujinmi, had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Atiku and Obi’s appeals “for constituting an abuse of the court process and lacking merit.”

Olanipekun also requested the apex court to decline the jurisdiction on accepting any fresh evidence as the 180 days under the law to hear election petitions had passed.

Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday sacked the member representing Katsina Central Federal Constituency, Sani Danlami Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress, APC over forgery of his first school leaving testimonial.

Daily Gazette recall that the national assembly election petitions tribunal sitting in Kastina state had upheld the declaration of Danlami Aliyu and dismissed the petition filed by the PDP candidate in that election, Aminu Ahmed Chindo.

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Dissatisfied with the rulling of the tribunal, PDP and her candidate approached the appeal court seeking the reliefs sought in their petition.

Delivering her judgment on the appeal, the appellate Court upturned the decision of the lower court and voided the return made by INEC.

The three man justices in a unanimous judgment agreed with the Petitioners that the lawmaker presented a forged, fake and unoriginal first school leaving testimonial to the Independent National Electoral Commission and subsequently nullified his election.

Similarly, the Appeal Court also upheld the declaration of Hon. Abubakar Yahaya of APC by the trial tribunal in Katsina State for Kankia/Kusada/Ingawa Federal Constituency against Ismail Dalha of the Peoples Democratic Party who was found guilty of submitting a forged Primary School Leaving certificate to INEC.

The court emphasised that the best evidence is from the issuer of the document and that the testimony of the issuer is final in determination of forgery.

On front-loading of subpoenaed witnesses, the court held that the testimony of OFFICIAL witnesses cannot be front-loaded and should be accepted whenever they are subpoenaed to appear by the Court.

The Sokoto State Election Petition Tribunal, on Wednesday, dismissed the petition, challenging the election of former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as Senator of the Sokoto South Senatorial districts.

The petition was filed by Senator Ibrahim Danbaba of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Danbaba urged the court to declare the election inconclusive for not complying substantially with the provisions of the electoral Act.

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He further prayed the court to order rerun election in twenty eight (28) polling units where he alleged election were not held during the February and April substantive and supplementary election.

The tribunal in a unanimous judgment by the 3-member panel led by Justice Denis Echesi dismissed the petition which it said lacked merit.

According to the court, the petitioner had presented documents and evidences which were not reliable.

The tribunal also awarded the cost of two hundred thousand naira each to the first and second respondents, the PDP and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Reacting, counsel to the former Governor, Sulieman Usman, hailed the judgement which he said spoke the minds of the entire people of Southern Sokoto.

However, counsel to the petitioner, Mr Chris Ndeoyiro, said they will wait for the copy of the judgement, review it content and take the next line of action.

The Senate on Wednesday passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act to bar the serving governor from partisan politics.

The bill titled: “Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) (Amendment) Bill 2023” was sponsored by Senator Steve Karimi (APC – Kogi West) while the second one titled: “A Bill to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, and for matters connected therewith, 2023” was sponsored by Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP – Abia Central).

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Daily Gazette recall that the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had attempted to run for the 2023 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while in office, a development that attracted widespread condemnation.

Karimi explained in the explanatory memorandum of his Bill that it was aimed at amending the CBN Act to allow for greater accountability and transparency in running the Bank and to prohibit the use of foreign currency in local transactions in Nigeria.

He also proposed an amendment of section 9(2) of the CBN Act reads: “Notwithstanding the Provisions of this Act or any written law in existence, the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the Bank shall not participate directly or indirectly in partisan politics, nor contest any election, during their tenure in office.”

Moreso, the amendment, as proposed by Senator Karimi, also seeks to prohibit the use of foreign currency for domestic transactions in Nigeria.

The Bill seeks amendment of Section 20 of the CBN Act, by inserting Section 20(A) immediately after the existing section 20, before the current section 21.

The proposed amendment reads: “20(A) Prohibition of the use of foreign currency in democratic transactions:
“(1) No person or body corporate shall use any foreign currency as a means of exchange for goods, services and other transactions in markets supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, airports and other places of business in Nigeria except by a Bank, licensed Bureau De Change and other financial institutions duly authorized by the Central Bank of Nigeria to trade, deal and use such currency and no individual or business entity in Nigeria shall advertise, denominate or price
its goods or services in any currency other than the Nigerian Naira and Kobo.

“(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to: (a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of N250,000.00 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment;

“(b) in the case of a corporate entity to a fine of N1,000,000 and a conviction of
three months to its officers or directors who authorized or undertook the transaction.”

On his part, Senator Nwokocha in his lead debate, said the amendment seeks to address all anomalies that has hindered the advancement of the apex bank to handle the ailing economy of the nation.

He said, “The thrust of this amendment is to create a people-centered Central Bank by delivering price and financial system stability and promoting sustainable economic development.

“As the nation grapples with economic issues, we need to reposition the CBN to grow the economy, regulate the exchange rate unauthorize financial transactions and dollarizing the economy.

“This bill seeks to provide for among other things: Separate the head of Management from the head of the governing Board in line with national and international good corporate governance practices;

“Establish a proper governance architecture for the monetary authority for optimal policy and operational effectiveness;

“Enshrine real-time controls and effective accountability in the conduct of central banking in Nigeria

“Reposition the CBN towards pursuit and advancement of its core mandates given the Bank’s pivotal role in the economy; and

“Position the CBN as an apolitical entity that will become a worthy example in national and international monetary policy, banking sector regulation, currency management, and supervision.”

Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau has sworn-in Amos Yohanna as the new Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District.

He was inaugurated at the commencement of sitting on Wednesday by Barau, who presided over the plenary.

Yohanna of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) replaced Elisha Abbo, who was sacked by the Appeal Court last Monday.

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The Court of Appeal in Abuja voided the election of Abbo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abbo winner of the February 25, 2023 parliamentary election, but Yohanna rejected the result and headed for the court.

The tribunal, in its judgement, dismissed the Yohanna’s petition for lacking in merit.

The PDP’s candidate, through his counsel Johnson Usman (SAN), approached the Appeal Court.

The Court of Appeal, after hearing arguments from parties, agreed with Usman that based on Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the results tendered clearly showed that there was no compliance with the Electoral Act.

The court, thereafter, deducted the invalid votes from the parties and found that Yohanna and PDP won the election by majority of lawful votes.

The three-member panel presided over by Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme, in a judgement, ordered INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to Yohanna as validly elected lawmaker for the senatorial district.

Reacting to the judgement, Abbo alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was behind his removal from the Senate.

Akpabio denied the allegation, saying he had no hands in the appeal court judgement.

Twenty-four hours later, he recanted and apologised to Akpabio.

“I had a discussion with my leader, senior brother, colleague and the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Akpabio and I am convinced that he was not involved in my exit from the Senate,” Abbo said.

After months of intense legal battle, Nigeria’s Apex court has fixed Thursday for judgment in the appeals by the presidential candidates of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, challenging the result of the February 25 election which produced President Bola Tinubu.

The Director of Information of the Supreme Court, Dr Festus Akande, confirmed the date on Wednesday.

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Both PDP and LP had on Monday argued their cases before the apex court while the appeal of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and its presidential candidate, Chichi Ojei, was dismissed after they withdrew it.

The Presidential Election Petitions Court had on September 6 dismissed the petitions of both parties for lack of evidence, but Obi and Atiku filed appeals.

Member representing Ojo Federal Constituency, Lagos State in the House of Representatives, Seyi Sowunmi, has described the affirmation of his victory by the Court of Appeal as the duly elected representative at the National Assembly as a testament to the prevailing will of the people.

Sowunmi, who stated this in a chat with newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, declared that the judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos on October 19, is a vivid reflection of overwhelming support bestowed upon him by the electorate in Ojo Federal Constituency.

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While hailing the appellate court for setting aside what he described as a “perverse judgment” by the Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal delivered on 24 August 2023, Sowunmi pointed out that the impartiality and dedication to transparency exhibited by the Court of Appeal remains a remarkable feat.

According to him, the dismissal by the Court of Appeal, Lagos of the suit brought before it by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lanre Ogunyemi challenging his victory as a Labour Part (LP) candidate in the February 25 National Assembly elections, strongly indicated that the judiciary remains the bastion of democracy in Nigeria.

“This resounding victory is a shared achievement, encompassing the voices of every person in Ojo who exercised their democratic rights by participating in the electoral process. Your votes have spoken, and your voices have been heard. As we embark upon this new chapter of qualitative representation of our good people, the commitments I articulated during the campaign were not mere words; they serve as the guiding principles that will illuminate my tenure.

“This victory signifies a trust placed in me, and I am resolute in my determination to transform that trust into tangible advancements for our dear constituency. Looking ahead, I extend a heartfelt appeal to every resident of the Ojo federal constituency: let us unite in pursuit of our common goals and shared vision.
Integrity, accountability, and transparency will be the cornerstones upon which we construct a constituency that flourishes through progress and inclusiveness”, Sowunmi stated.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, has fixed October 27 to hear the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), candidate in the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva.

Sylva and his party, through Dr Ahmed Raji, SAN and Mr Akinlolou Kehinde, SAN, had approached the court to set aside the judgement of a Federal High Court, Abuja, which disqualified Sylva, from participating in the election.

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When the case came up yesterday, parties in the appeal sorted out processes and the appeal was set down for October 27 for hearing.

Raji in the appeal had told the court to dismiss the judgement of Justice Donated Okorowo of the Federal High Court, which disqualified his client

Apart from the notice of appeal, Sylva, through his lawyer, Dr Raji filed a stay of execution of the judgement.

Shortly after the appeal was filed, Dr Raji said the high court judgment is against settled principles of law and notable precedents. The chances of success at the appeal court are very high.

He said the appeal raises three fundamental issues touching on jurisdiction, locus standi and wrongful evaluation of affidavit evidence.

In a judgement delivered last week, Justice Okorowo disqualified the APC candidate on the ground that Sylva has been sworn-in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa state.

According to the court, standing for another election as governor would breach the 1999 Constitution as amended.

In the motion on notice, dated October 10, 2023, praying the court to stay execution of the judgement, Sylva, through his Counsel, prayed the court for an order of the court staying execution and/or further execution of the entire judgment and the orders contained in the Judgment of the Court, delivered on the 9th October, 2023, pending the hearing and final determination of the appeal lodged against the judgement and Orders of this Court before the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

He also prayed the court for an injunction, restraining the respondents from implementing and/or giving effect to the Declaratory and Executory Orders contained in the Judgment.