The Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the election of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
The apex court, in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, dismissed an appeal the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Sadique Abubakar, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.
Abubakar and his party had contended that Governor Mohammed, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was not the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest.
They alleged that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act 2022, insisting that several electoral documents that were used during the poll were not properly filled.
However, both the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Jos dismissed Abubakar’s case and upheld Governor Mohammed’s election victory.
Dissatisfied with the concurrent verdicts of the two lower courts, the APC candidate lodged an appeal before the Supreme Court, contending that his case vis-à-vis the exhibits that were tendered in evidence by the parties was not properly evaluated by the tribunal.
While dismissing the appeal on Friday for want of merit, the apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro, said it found no reason to dislodge the judgements of the lower courts.
It resolved all the issues that were formulated by the appellants against them.