The Court of Appeal in Abuja has voided the election of Sen. Ishaku Abbo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Adamawa North in the National Assembly.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abbo winner of the February 25, 2023 parliamentary election, but Amos Yohanna, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival, rejected the result and headed for the court.
The Yohanna’s plea was denied by the tribunal because it lacked merit, according to its judgment.
Sen. Abbo is the Senator embroiled in the physical abuse of a lady attendant at a sex toy shop in Abuja.
The PDP candidate, through his attorney Johnson Usman (SAN), appealed the tribunal’s verdict to the Appeal Court under appeal number: CA/YL/EP/AD/SEN/06/2023 between Rev. Amos Kumai Yohanna and another Vs. Ishaku Elisha Cliff and others.
The Court of Appeal concurred with Usman that, in light of Section 137 of the Electoral Act of 2022, the results clearly demonstrated that the Electoral Act had not been followed.
The court therefore took the illegitimate votes away from the candidates and determined that Yohanna and the PDP had received the majority of valid votes to win the election.
In a ruling, the three-member panel led by Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme mandated that INEC provide Yohanna a Certificate of Return certifying her as the senatorial district’s duly elected representative.
When asked about the verdict, Mr. Sam Ologunorisa (SAN) remarked he was speechless since “the Court of Appeal is the final court.”
Mr. Michael Numa (SAN), an attorney for the APC, declined to comment on the verdict until he had a chance to review it.
“I wasn’t present when the verdict was announced in court. Therefore, I must first examine the verdict before I can comment,” he stated.
Justice M.I. Sirajo and Justice O.A. Adegbhinde are the other panellists.
