The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja strongly criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday, accusing the electoral body of partisanship and behaving irresponsibly in election disputes. The court decried that INEC appeared to favor a party by disowning documents it issued and certified, emphasizing that INEC should maintain a neutral stance in election litigations.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice K. I. Amadi, the court nullified the election of the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, who had been declared the winner of Ningi Central Constituency by INEC. The court held that evidence before it established the election as inconclusive and directed INEC to conduct a supplementary poll in 10 polling units within 90 days. The Certificate of Return issued to Suleiman was also voided, and a cost of N500,000 was awarded against INEC.
The judgement resulted from an appeal brought by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Khalid Abdulmalik-Ningi, challenging the outcome of the election. The APC candidate alleged over-voting and corrupt practices, and though INEC denied the claim, it failed to produce any witness before the tribunal that dismissed the petition.
The Court of Appeal faulted the tribunal’s decision, noting that the appellant brought nine witnesses and tendered certified copies of INEC documents to support the case. It emphasized that the certified INEC documents were sufficient to sustain the allegation of non-compliance with electoral provisions, questioning why INEC denied the cancellation of results when its officials acknowledged the same in the submitted forms. The court held that the tribunal had the statutory power to give probative value to the INEC documents and establish the alleged non-compliance.
