The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has nullified the election of the Deputy Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Jamilu Barade. This decision follows closely on the heels of the recent removal of the Speaker of the State Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman.
The three-man panel of the appellate court, in a late Monday judgment, overturned the ruling of the Bauchi State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which had affirmed Barade’s election as the representative of Bauchi Central State constituency.
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The court upheld the appeal of the APC candidate, citing overvoting in nine polling units.
As a consequence, the Appeal Court has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retrieve the Certificate of Return previously issued to the Deputy Speaker. Furthermore, the court mandated INEC to conduct rerun elections in the affected polling units before determining the final winner.
The ruling also affects the member representing Zungur/Galambi/Miri Constituency, Yusuf Ahmed, of the PDP, who has also been unseated, with a rerun ordered in specific polling units.
While the Bauchi INEC office claims not to have received the court order, it expresses readiness for the rerun within the stipulated time frame. Aliyu Shaba, INEC’s Officer in charge of Voter Education, stated, “We have not been served the court order, but our lawyer said that we have 90 days. We are ready to obey the court. We are going to fix a date for the rerun.
APC’s counsel, U.B. Darazo, welcomed the judgment, emphasizing the presence of overvoting in selected polling units. He expressed satisfaction with the ruling, seeing it as an indication that the 2023 elections in the state were flawed.
