The Supreme Court Confirms Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed’s Election

In a unanimous ruling by a five-member panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on Friday for lack of merit and stated that it could not find any justification for overturning the lower courts’ rulings.

On Friday, the Supreme Court affirmed Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed’s election.

The apex court, in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, dismissed an appeal the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Sadique Abubakar, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.

Abubakar and his party had contended that Governor Mohammed, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was not the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest.

They alleged that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act 2022, insisting that several electoral documents that were used during the poll were not properly filled.

However, both the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Jos dismissed Abubakar’s case and upheld Governor Mohammed’s election victory.

Dissatisfied with the concurrent verdicts of the two lower courts, the APC candidate lodged an appeal before the Supreme Court, contending that his case vis-à-vis the exhibits that were tendered in evidence by the parties was not properly evaluated by the tribunal.

The five-member panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro unanimously decided to dismiss the appeal on Friday due to lack of merit, but they also stated that there was no justification for overturning the lower courts’ rulings.

It addressed every argument raised by the appellants against them.