The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Yola has dismissed two petitions filed against the former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly Alhaji Kabiru Mijinyawa (APC), and the present Minority Leader of the Assembly Muhammed Mutawali of Girei Constituency also of APC.
The petitions were separately filed before the court by the candidates of PDP for Yola South and Girei Constituencies, Adamu Baba Mustapha and Abubakar Abdullahi Wambai respectively challenging the elections of the members.
Both Mijinyawa and Mutawali, were returned as members representing their constituencies under APC in the last general election.
Delivering his judgement on the petitions Thursday, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Suleiman Akanbi, dismissed both the petitions for lack of merits, declaring that the petitioners failed to prove their cases beyond reasonable doubt.
According to him, some of the grounds listed by the petitioners were over voting, corrupt practices, thumb printing, lack of accreditation, lack of qualification in the case of the member representing Girei, falsification of result sheet, infractions and violation of electoral act.
He declared that in matters of election petitions, the prayers or grounds are the backbone or merits of the petition and must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, explaining that the petitioners failed to adduce evidence to prove their cases which were thereby struck out for lack of merits.
In his reaction on the judgement, Lead Counsel to both respondents, Barrister. Tosin Alawole, stated that the tribunal gave judgement in the favour of all his respondents.
According to him, the tribunal held that the election conducted on nine March, twenty nineteen, that brought in both APC candidates were conducted in substantial compliance with the electoral act.
He explained that the evidence brought by the petitioners before the court, could not substantiate the allegations and the tribunal therefore dismissed the suits.
In his reaction, Counsel to the petitioners, Barrister. Sunday Wugira, simply said that he would confer with the petitioners to decide the next line of action, whether to appeal or not.
