The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday overturned the decision of the State Election Petitions Tribunal to sack Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule.
The Tribunal had ruled on October 2 that Sule’s election should be nullified, declaring David Emmanuel Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party as the rightful winner.
The Appellate Court, led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, found that the Tribunal had committed a grave error in basing its decision on witness statements that were not front-loaded as required by law.
These statements, taken on oath, were deemed inadmissible and of no legal value.
The Court further held that the Tribunal had failed to consider the jurisdictional issues raised by Governor Sule, effectively denying him a fair hearing.
This denial, the Court ruled, was fatal to the Tribunal’s proceedings, rendering its decisions invalid.
In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal reversed all orders made against Governor Sule and the Independent National Electoral Commission, affirming Sule as the duly elected Governor of Nasarawa State.
INEC had initially declared Sule the winner of the governorship election, based on his receipt of 347,209 votes compared to Ombugadu’s 283,016 votes.
The Court’s decision effectively reinstates Governor Sule and upholds the outcome of the governorship election as originally determined by INEC.
