Court Determines Suit Seeking For Annulment Of The Adamawa State Governorship Election

In respect to the supplementary election in Adamawa state, the High Court in the state which has been sitting on a motion seeking to stop the rerun election has concluded the hearing and will deliver judgement on Friday.

The court on Thursday concluded the hearing filed by the candidate of the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy, Rev Eric Theman, who had approached the court after the governorship election in the state that his party logo was excluded on the ballot paper.

He call on the court to stop the conduct of the supplementary election and to cancel the main election in the state.

The court on March 14 granted his plea thereby stopping the rerun in the state on March 23 slated for all states where elections was declared inconclusive.

The injunction remained in place until the court lifted it on Tuesday, following which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed Thursday, March 28, for the rerun.

The court, as the supplementary election was proceeding, on Thursday heard arguments for and against the originating motion, seeking the annulment of the March 9 election from plaintiff and defence counsels and adjourned judgement to Friday, March 29.

Counsel to INEC, Barr. Stephen Ibian, who was supported by counsels to both PDP and its running mate, Umaru Fintiri, had argued, among other things, that the MRDD was not on the ballot paper because the candidate did not nominate a running mate for the election, as the vital forms in respect of the MRDD showed that the party did not sponsor any running mate.

He therefore concluded that the reliefs sought by the MRDD constituted an academic exercise and not grant-able.

The counsel to the MRDD, Barr. Mustapha Ibrahim, told the court however that the MRDD presented a running mate to the governorship candidate but that the documents INEC was tendering had a vital page missing, which he said meant that INEC was withholding evidence.

He added, “It is inconceivable for INEC to receive form 001 (as it did) and not Form 002 because they come together. Happily, the plaintiff has submitted the invisible page through exhibit MRDD 9 attached to the affidavit. It shows that the first plaintiff (Eric Theman) duly submitted the second plaintiff (as his running mate) for the Adamawa governorship election.”

The trial judge, Justice Abdulaziz Waziri, adjourned sitting after taking all the arguments, and announced Friday, March 29, as date for judgement.