NNPP wins Kumbotso House of Reps in Court of Appeal

The ruling of the National and State House of Assembly Tribunal on the election of a representative for the Kumbotso Federal Constituency in the Kano House of Representatives has been overturned by the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

The first ruling said that the election had been won by Mannir Babba Danagudi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and it removed Idris Kawu of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from his position as the elected representative for Kumbotso Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives.

The decision was handed down by a three-judge panel presided over by Justice Tunji Oyebamuji.

In it, the panel stated that the lower court had made a mistake in the law when it gave priority to the judgement on Idris Kawu’s certificate despite the fact that he had failed to provide it to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This was stated in the panel’s verdict.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court had made a mistake by basing its decision on testimony obtained from witnesses who had been subpoenaed.

Idris Dankawu’s victory in the Kumbotso Federal Constituency election was maintained by the court as having been legitimately won despite Mannir Babba Danagudi’s inability to produce credible and reliable witnesses to support her claim that the election should be nullified.