Supreme Court upholds Nasarawa gov’s election

On Friday, January 19, the Supreme Court affirmed Abdullahi Sule as the duly elected governor of Nasarawa state, settling a legal dispute between the incumbent governor, Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Emmanuel David Ombugadu.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, leading a five-member panel of Justices, delivered the judgment, upholding the Court of Appeal’s decision from November that affirmed Sule’s election. The Supreme Court declared the appeal by the PDP and Ombugadu lacking in merit and dismissed it along with cross-appeals.

During the proceedings on January 19, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), lead counsel to the PDP and its governorship candidate, urged the Supreme Court to set aside the Court of Appeal’s judgment and reinstate the October 2, 2023, judgment of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in favor of PDP and Ombugadu. Agabi argued that the Court of Appeal had unjustly nullified the Tribunal’s decision and declared Sule as the winner.

In response, Governor Sule, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and APC urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking merit. APC’s lawyers, led by Akin Olujinmi (SAN), requested a careful examination of legal authorities supporting the dismissal.

The Court of Appeal had previously overturned the Tribunal’s decision, citing errors in the use of witness statements and the Tribunal’s failure to consider jurisdictional issues raised by the governor. Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, delivering the Court of Appeal’s judgment, emphasized that the Tribunal’s denial of a fair hearing rendered its decisions invalid. The Court of Appeal dismissed the over-voting allegations and affirmed Sule as the lawfully elected governor of Nasarawa state, reversing all previous orders against him and INEC.