Appeal Court upholds election of Bauchi rep, Jafaru Leko

On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja validated Rep. Jafaru Leko’s election as the representative for Bauchi State’s Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency.

Kefas Magaji of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed an appeal, but it was unanimously rejected by a three-judge panel presided over by Justice Lawal Shuaibu.

The court found that Magaji and PDP had not provided sufficient evidence to support their claims.

In a federal constituency election held on February 25, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reportedly announced that Leko of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had won.

Magaji and the PDP were unhappy with the results and launched a petition to overturn Leko’s proclamation of victory.

However, the Elections Tribunal for National and State Assemblies ruled against the petitioners.

Appeal No. CA/J/EPT/BA/HR/05/2023 between Barrister Kefas M. Magaji and the PDP and Jafaru Gambo Leko, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission was filed by the petitioners at the Court of Appeal.

On Friday, the Appeal Court upheld the trial tribunal’s decision to reject Leko’s petition after hearing arguments from his attorney, Mr. Johnson Usman, SAN.

The court dismissed the appeal and upheld that Jafaru Leko was the winner of the poll after expressing surprise that majority of the witnesses produced by the petitioners testified in Hausa Language while their witness statements were made in English.

In an interview with NAN, Mr. Usman hailed the appeals court’s ruling as a triumph for democracy.

The senior counsel argued that the court did not err in upholding the trial court’s ruling by concluding that the petitioners/appellants failed to prove their case at either stage of the proceedings.

The petitioner’s attorney, Mr. Israel Usman, declined to comment on the situation.

Without further explanation, he replied, “Until my client asks me to speak, I cannot make any comment about the judgment.”