S’Court reserves judgment in Sokoto governorship appeal

The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in an appeal seeking to unseat Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State.

The five-member panel of Justices of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, after adopting briefs filed by parties, said a date for judgment would be announced to parties in the matter.

Mr Sunday Ameh (SAN), the lead counsel to the appellants, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Saidu Umar, urged the court to allow the appeal and grant all the reliefs sought.

Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), representing Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking merit.

Olanipekun also prayed the court to uphold the concurrent judgments of the Sokoto State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the election of Aliyu as Sokoto State governor.

Persecondnews recalls that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja in November affirmed the election of Governor Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State.

The appellate court dismissed a petition that the PDP and its candidate, Saidu Umar, filed to challenge the declaration of Aliyu of APC, as the bona fide winner of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18.

Declaring Ahmed Aliyu as duly elected at the INEC collation centre in Sokoto, the Returning Officer, Prof. Armayau Hamisu from Federal University, Dutsinma, Katsina State, announced that the APC candidate polled 453,661 votes to defeat his closest challenger and candidate of the ruling PDP, Mallam Saidu Umar, who polled 404,632 votes.