The Supreme Court has deferred judgment on the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Aisha Dahiru, known as Binani, challenging the election of Adamawa Governor Ahmadu Fintiri. The five-member panel, led by John Okoro, adjourned the matter for judgment after hearing arguments from the involved parties.
Binani, represented by her counsel Akin Olujimi, emphasized during the proceedings that the controversial declaration by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Ari, was lawful. This decision comes several months after the Court of Appeal upheld Fintiri’s victory, dismissing Binani’s challenge as lacking merit and awarding costs of N500,000 in favor of Fintiri and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The Court of Appeal’s ruling aligned with the tribunal’s verdict on October 28, which rejected Binani’s petition for failure to substantiate allegations of over-voting by not presenting evidence. Before the legal dispute, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Fintiri the winner of the governorship poll.
Fintiri secured 9,337 votes, surpassing Senator ‘Binani’ who garnered 6,513 votes. However, during the collation process, Ari prematurely declared Binani as the winner, a move contrary to Section 25 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which grants only the returning officer the authority to declare results for governorship polls.
Following the announcement, INEC nullified the pronouncement, suspended the supplementary election results’ collation in Adamawa, and summoned the REC, Returning Officer, and involved officials to the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja. Subsequently, Ari was arrested by the police, currently facing charges in court.
