Judge sacks Yahaya Bello as Kogi governor but it won’t stand

A judge on Saturday sacked Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State from office and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] to conduct a fresh election in seven local governments within three months.

Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele, one of the three judges on the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, nullified the results in seven out of the 21 local government areas in the state

However, Justice Ovbiagele judgement won’t stand as the two other members of the panel dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] and its governorship candidate in the election, Musa Wada.

Justice Kashim Kaigama, who headed the three-man bench, and Justice Baraka Wali held that the petitioners failed to prove any of the grounds of their petition.

Governor Yahaya Bello was, therefore, affirmed the winner of the 16 November 2019 governorship election in the state with a majority judgment of two-to-one.