The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the election of Joshua Gana, the son of Professor Jerry Gana, representing the Lavun/Mokwa/Edati Federal Constituency in Niger State in the House of Representatives for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This decision overturns the previous ruling of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which had invalidated Gana’s election.
The tribunal had previously annulled the certificate of return issued to Gana by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and ordered supplementary elections in the Lavun/Mokwa/Edati Federal Constituency.
In a unanimous verdict, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal supported the argument put forth by Gana’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, asserting that the tribunal had erred by siding with the complaints of Abdullahi Usman Gbatamagi and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Appellate court emphasized that Gbatamagi and the APC failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of Paragraph 4 (5) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 by not submitting their witness statements on oath within the stipulated timeframe for filing the petition.
Additionally, it deemed the evidence from their first witness and the documents presented, which the tribunal relied on in favor of the 1st and 2nd (Usman and the APC), as inadmissible.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal found that the tribunal had made a legal error in asserting that Gbatamagi and the APC had provided sufficient evidence to support their petition.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal deemed Mr. Gana’s appeal as meritorious and granted it, confirming his election.
