ASHENEWS reports that the Appeal Court in Sokoto has upheld the result of the primary election of the Zamfara state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in which Dr. Dauda Lawal-Dare emerged its candidate.
The appellate court in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Talba on Friday, held that the Appellants succeeded in proving the seven grounds of appeals canvassed by the Counsels and all resolved in their favour.
The court then dismissed all the preliminary objections based on competency of the appeal, and on the basis of judicial provisions, and in the interest of fear hearing.
Justice Talba argued that technical defaults could not supersede judicial provisions.
He further held that the lower court was wrong to have discountenanced the documents submitted by INEC, adding that the trail court did not stipulate the period of conducting re-run election and notices of participation.
Talba added that the court perused all the arguments presented by different Counsels, citations of court judgements and other judicial considerations and arrived at the decision, and thereby set aside the lower court’s judgement and answered the prayer sought in affirmative.
The Appeal Court further held that Justice Aminu Bappah-Aliyu of the Federal High Court Gusau failed in his legal responsibilities in some judicial considerations, especially of giving parties fear hearing, and others.
Justice Talba awarded N200,000 as cost to Appellants against the Respondents.
In a judgment in a separate suit, Justice Talba upheld prayers of Lawal-Dare, Maina-Waziri, and Mande against the same Respondents.
He agreed with the Appellants that the respondents did not prove that the Appeal panel for the PDP primary election went into hiding as evidences were not adduced.
ASHENEWS recalls that the result of the PDP governorship primary election held on May 25, 2022, was challenged at Federal High Court in Gusau.
ASHENEWS further recalls that the court ordered for fresh primary election, which re-run was conducted on September 23, 2022 but also quashed by the same court on reasons of irregularities.
Not satisfied, the Appellants, Lawal-Dare, Adamu Maina-Waziri, the chairman primary election committee, and retired Col. Bala Mande approached the Appeal Court for redress.
Respondents in the suit were Dr. Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, Wadatau Madawaki, Hafiz Nahuche, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
