The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Mrs. Aishatu Dahiru popularly called Benani, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja seeking an order to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the election pending the determination of her case
Recall that INEC’s overzealous resident electoral commissioner in Adamawa State, Mr. Hudu Ari had declared Benani as the winner of the election while collation of results of the supplementary poll held on Saturday, April 15 was still in progress.
Statutorily, the returning officers are empowered to announce results, but the REC’s action made it more suspicious as he was alleged to have been working for a powerful interest group that is desperate to ensure Dahiru’s emergence as the first elected female governor in Nigeria.
Yesterday, the national headquarters of INEC ordered Ari to stay away from the commission’s office in Yola, Adamawa State and handover to the next most senior officer.
A letter dated April 17, 2023, and signed by INEC secretary, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, directed the commission’s administrative secretary in the state to take charge.
“I hereby convey the commission’s decision that you (Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari), resident electoral commissioner, Adamawa State should stay away from the commission’s office immediately until further notice.
“The administrative secretary has been directed to take full charge of INEC, Adamawa State, with immediate effect,” INEC wrote.
In her suit, Binani through her lawyers led by Hussaini Zakariyau, is seeking “leave of the court allowing the applicant to file an application for judicial review of the first respondent made on April 16, 2022, in respect of the gubernatorial election of Adamawa State held on March 18, 2023, and the supplementary elections held on April 15, 2023.”
Besides, Binani, alongside her party, APC, is also seeking an order of prohibition and certiorari preventing the electoral umpire and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the election, pending the determination of her application for judicial review.
Sued with the commission are the PDP and its governorship candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, listed as first, second, and third defendants, respectively.
The application was brought pursuant to order 34 Rules 1a, order 3(1) and 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (civil procedure rules) 2019, and Section 251 (1)q and r of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 149 and 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In the grounds upon which the application was brought, Dahiru contended that the “only court with power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the election petition tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution.”
The APC candidate maintained that after the completion of vote in the supplementary governorship election of April 15, and the subsequent collation of same results, INEC declared her as the winner of the governorship election, and she was thereby returned as elected.
The applicant said pursuant to the declaration, any dissatisfied candidate ought to resort to the tribunal for redress, if any.
She faulted the cancellation of her declaration on April 16, based on some crisis caused by PDP and Fintiri, stressing that INEC “has no powers to cancel or declare the declaration as been made as null and void”.
The applicants added: “INEC after the declaration of Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed as the winner usurped the powers of the Election Petition Tribunal and declared the declaration null and void.
“The first respondent does not have the requisite powers to declare an election in which the winner has been declared null and void.”
Binani, through her lawyers led by Mr. Hussaini Zakariyau, submitted that a judicial review existed to enable the superior court checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts as well as the legislative and administrative arms of government, including agencies and public officers.
The applicant further submitted that INEC being an agency of the government can have its actions, records and decisions checked by the court and only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not INEC itself.
