The Election Petition Tribunal in Sokoto state has accepted two letters as evidence regarding Deputy Governor Idris Gobir’s educational qualifications.
The tribunal has adjourned the case until July 19th after the Peoples Democratic Party and the 2023 Governorship candidate, Alhaji Sa’idu Umar, presented their testimonies.
The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Mshelia, has adjourned for the All Progressives Congress, Governor Ahmad Aliyu, and Gobir to present their defense.
The letters were submitted by Mr. Muyiwa Akinboro SAN, the lead Counsel to the PDP, and Alhaji Sa’idu Umar. Alhaji Bello Goronyo, the state party chairman, testified and stated that he received reports on election violence and fraud, which were submitted to relevant authorities. While some individuals were arrested, their prosecution status remains uncertain.
The chairman of the party informed the tribunal that he had no knowledge of any court judgment regarding the eligibility of Gov. Aliyu and his deputy, Gobir, to participate in elections.
Akinboro also presented Abdulmumini Usman, the Head of Operations of INEC in Sokoto, as a witness who provided election documents as evidence. The lead counsel for the respondents, Chief Jecob Ochidi, SAN, and Hassan Liman SAN from the APC objected to the admissibility of the documents and proceeded to cross-examine the witnesses.
Mr AbdulAziz Sani, SAN, the lead counsel for INEC, supported the arguments put forth by the respondents’ counsel.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Umar and PDP filed a petition with the tribunal, seeking the nullification of the March 18, 2023 election that declared Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of the APC and his Deputy, Idris Gobir, as the winners.
In their petition, they alleged that the election was marred by irregularities and violated electoral laws.
The petitioners argued that the respondents were ineligible to contest the election at the time, and therefore, the votes attributed to them were wrongfully counted. They claimed that the election had become unlawful, null, and void.
Furthermore, they requested the tribunal to either declare the petitioner as the duly elected Governor of Sokoto State, having obtained the majority of the valid votes, or order a new election excluding the respondents.
