The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the CPC in Bauchi State a leave to amend its notice of appeal against the election of Gov. Isa Yuguda.
The court further granted Alhaji Yusuf Tugar, the CPC’s governorship candidate in that election another leave to amend the appellant brief of argument.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Mahmoud Mohammed held that the application was granted because the prayers were appropriate.
Mohammed said that the process had been deemed properly filed and served and gave the respondents up to March 5 to file their counter affidavit.
Earlier, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the counsel to Yuguda, had raised an objection on the application, saying that the plaintiffs’ prayer for the time to be abridged was incompetent.
“My Lords, we have filed our respondent brief on Feb. 2 and they waited until Feb. 27 to file their counter affidavit; they have not adduced any reason for the delay and so we do not concede to the application.
“My Lords, we also vehemently oppose the request made by them to reply to our affidavit orally; the entire application lacks merit and should be dismissed.
In a related case, Mr Hassan Leman, the counsel to the INEC, adopted Fagbemi’s submission.
Meanwhile, Chief Olawole Akoni (SAN), the counsel to the plaintiffs, explained that the plaintiff's applicant deserved the prayers sought, adding that the objection raised by the respondents counsel were in bad light.
“It is only the court that can make an order for abridgment of time, it does not lie within the powers of any counsel to concede or not more so we are obliged to be heard.”
The plaintiffs further asked the court to invoke Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act on the matter.
The section empowers the court to hear the appeal as a court of first instance.
The plaintiffs are asking for the cancellation of the April 2011 governorship election that produced the PDP candidate in the April 2011 election.
Mohammed adjourned the matter to March 5 for hearing.
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