The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 16, reserved judgments in the appeals seeking to sack the governors of Nasarawa and Kebbi states – Abdullahi Sule and Nasir Idris.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Nasarawa State, Emmanuel David Ombugadu are, by their appeal, seeking to set aside the November 23, 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which reversed the earlier judgment of the election tribunal, sacking of governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Court of Appeal had, in its judgment, held that evidence before it established that the election tribunal relied on legally inadmissible evidence to void Sule’s election and declare Ombugadu as the winner of the governorship election held on March 18, 2023.
The first appeal heard on Tuesday by a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, was the one marked: SC/CV/1213/2023 filed by Ombugadu and the PDP.
Their lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN) adopted his written briefs and urged the court to allow the appeal, set aside the judgment of the court below and restore the earlier judgment of the tribunal.
Lawyer to Sule, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) prayed the court to dismiss the appeal, “which is lacking in merit and substance.”
Olanipekun urged the court to affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal “which is unassailable and impeccable.”
Lawyer to the APC, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), equally urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the decision of the court of appeal, which he said, accords with the recent decision of the Supreme Court, delivered on Friday.
Lawyer to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Akin Olujinmi (SAN) also urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit.
Olujinmi urged the court to affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal, following which Justice Kekere-Ekun announced that the court’s decision in the appeal heard shall be applied to the other three appeals on the same dispute, marked – SC/CV/1214/2023; SC/CV/1215/202315, and SC/CV/1216/2023.
While arguing the appeal by Bande and the PDP, their lawyer, Damian Dodo (SAN) urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Respondents’ lawyers – Usman Sule (SAN), Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), Kehinde Eleja (SAN), and Abdullahi Yahaya (SAN) – urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts.
Justice Kekere-Ekun also announced that the judgment in the appeal heard shall be applied to the other appeals marked: SC/CV/1228A/2023 and SC/CV/1228B/2023, which also relate to the governorship dispute.