The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Bala Mohammed as the Governor of Bauchi state.
Recall that, in November, the Appellate Court affirmed the victory of Governor Mohammed in the March 18 governorship election.
The appeal was filed by the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Sadique Abubakar, following the tribunal judgment upholding Mohammed’s victory.
The panel of three justices were unanimous, awarding no cost as the court ruled that each party to the matter should bear their costs.
The presiding judge, Justice Chidi Nwaoma Uwa, read the judgment in the order of the appellant’s plea before the appeal court.
On plea number one, the appellant pleaded that the election be nullified because the forms and booklets used in the election were not properly filled. The court ruled that the appellant failed to prove this allegation with the needed evidence
The ruling dismissed the appeal brought by the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate, Muhammed Abubakar.
Justice Dattijo Mohammed, reading the lead judgment, highlighted the inadmissibility of the evidence presented by the appellants’ witnesses at the election tribunal.
The court noted that the witness’s statement was incompetent and held no value under the law.
The crucial point in the judgment was the court’s dismissal of the appeal due to the witness’s deposition being made in Hausa, with only an English translation provided without the original Hausa statement.
Mohammed emphasized that the witness failed to prove the alleged infractions, as the appellant did not call witnesses for 307 out of the 336 polling units where infractions were claimed.
He declared, “The court remains persistent; it would align itself with the current findings of the two lower courts, unless it is demonstrated by the appellants that these findings are perversed. The appellants have failed to demonstrate the perversity in the concurrent decision of the two lower courts. I find no merit in this appeal and hereby dismiss the same.”
