In a unanimous decision on Tuesday evening, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the election of Kefas Agbu as the governor of Taraba State. The three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Peter Affen, delivered the judgement, dismissing the appeal brought by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and its governorship candidate, Prof. Yahaya Sani.
The appellate court ruled that the appellants, NNPP and Sani, were inconsistent in their petition against the March 28 governorship election. Justice Affen highlighted that the appellants sought the nullification of the election on the grounds of non-compliance with the electoral act, while simultaneously requesting the court to declare them as winners based on the majority of lawful votes.
The court held that it is legally impermissible for litigants, as in the case of NNPP and its governorship candidate, to adopt contradictory positions simultaneously. Justice Affen emphasized that since the appellants sought the annulment of the election due to non-compliance, the alternative plea for declaring them as winners lacked legal standing.
Additionally, the Court of Appeal noted that the record of proceedings submitted by the appellants was incomplete, rendering their appeal incompetent. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and affirmed the earlier judgement of a tribunal that had dismissed the petition.
The Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, led by Justice Ayo Sunmonu, had on September 30, dismissed the NNPP’s petition for lacking merit.
