The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the election of Governor Patrick Yakowa in the April 2011 governorship poll and dismissed the appeal filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) gubernatorial candidate, Haruna Saeed Kajuru.
Justice Francis Tabai who chaired a five-man panel of justices affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal in Kaduna that had earlier dismissed Kajuru’s appeal but said the reason for the apex court’s pronouncement would be made available in due course.
The CPC governorship candidate had approached the apex court to set aside the judgment of the appeal court on the grounds that it erred in law by affirming the decision of Kaduna state Election Petition Tribunal which failed to properly evaluate the evidence he tendered before it.?
But Justice Tabai said yesterday that “the concurrent judgment of the Court of Appeal and the Kaduna State Election Petition Tribunal are sound, and we have no reason to upturn them. The appeal lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed in its entirety. We shall give reasons for our decision in due course.”
Justice Abdu Aboki-led three-man panel of the Kaduna Division Court of Appeal had dismissed Kajuru’s appeal on the grounds that he failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubts, adding that the CPC flag bearer’s appeal lacked merit.
“The petition has no merit and so, it is dismissed. We have gone through the entire records of appeal which is eight volumes. We see no merit in this appeal and is thereby dismissed,” the judge said.
Explaining why the court had to give its judgment on Sunday, Justice Aboki stressed that, “the appeal expires today at midnight… That is why we have to rush this judgment and hold it today.”
Aboki however dismissed the evidence of the three expert witnesses called by the petitioners on the ground that they lacked basic knowledge in election matters.