The Supreme Court, yesterday, in Abuja, reserved judgment in a fresh legal battle by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Aisha Dahiru Binani, seeking to unseat Umar Ahmadu Fintiri as duly elected governor of Adamawa State.
The apex court deferred ruling after fierce legal fireworks by the legal team, led by Akin Olujinmi (SAN) and that of Governor Fintiri, headed by Damian Dodo (SAN).
During the arguments, Olujinmi, a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, asked the five-member panel of judges to invoke Section 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022 to declare Binani as the lawfully elected governor.
The senior lawyer argued that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who pronounced Binani as winner of the March 18, 2023 election, had powers under the law to do so.
Specifically, Olujinmi insisted that as a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the REC cannot be faulted for making a declaration in an election he superintendent over.
However, counsel to the governor Fintiri, Dodo, pleaded with the court to reject Binani’s arguments for “being baseless and against the clear provisions of the law.”
Among others, he submitted that the REC lacked powers to make declarations on an election, adding that the only person vested with such power was the Returning Officer.
He explained that the REC, who made the “unlawful declaration, refused bluntly to show up at the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal to give evidence, and justify his actions.”
