On Saturday, the FCT Area Council Election Appeal Tribunal upheld Hon. Christopher Maikalangu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
In a unanimous judgement, the three-man tribunal, including Justice S. B Belgore (Chairman), Justice Yusuf Halilu (member 1), and Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie (member 2), dismissed the August 5 judgment of the FCT Area Council Election Tribunal, which declared Hon. Murtala Usman Karshi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the election held on February 12.
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The justices said that the judgement of the lower tribunal was not only evil but negated all the achievements recorded in Nigeria’s democracy.
While reading out the lead judgment in suit FCT/ACEAT/AP/01/22, which had Christopher Maikalangu as appellant and Murtala Karshi and three others as respondent, Justice Yusuf Halilu said that the lower tribunal erred by ignoring contradictory evidence before it and did a hatchet job by declaring Karshi winner of the election.
He further revealed, “It is not in doubt the APC as a party was faced with legal battles after the party primaries to nominate a flagship bearer for the AMAC election held on February 12, 2022.
“It is equally not in doubt that the 1st respondent, Murtala Usman Karshi, was involved in the said altercation, which eventually landed parties before the apex court of this land, i.e., Supreme Court of Nigeria, which eventually declared the 1st respondent as the winner of the APC primary for AMAC election.
“We have seen the pieces of evidence supplied by both the appellant and the respondents to the lower tribunal.
“The witnesses listed by the APC as supervisors in the disputed polling units admitted they were not polling unit agents. It has become critical for us to ask questions at this point on what collating results connotes.
“Can they do collation without polling units results? It is indeed an election process in which they cast votes at polling units, electoral officers collate results, and they announce results at the hearing.
“If that is the case, who then is the proper person to be called if there is a complaint anchored on a wrongful collation of results? Is it the ward supervisor or a polling unit agent? The answer is a polling unit agent.
“The evidence of the supposed polling unit agents, who were not at the disputed units, falls within the evidence of hearsay or documentary hearsay, which arises when someone who is not privy to the origin of a document seeks to prove its content by an oral documentary.
“On the evidence of our findings that the witnesses above were not the polling unit agents in the affected polling units, the evidence of the witnesses, as entertained by the lower tribunal, is at this moment expunged.
“In the same vein, all said the tribunal has dumped documents that were referred to as no evidence could have led to their content.”
“The judgment of the lower tribunal delivered on August 5, 2022, is now set aside.
“The declaration of INEC that Christopher Zakka of the PDP is the duly elected chairman of AMAC is hereby restored. May God help us.”
Addressing journalists after the judgement, AMAC Chairman, Christopher Maikalangu, said the judiciary is the last hope of the common man, thanking the tribunal for defending democracy.
He said, “I am the happiest person on earth today. I have not rested since I won the election in February. Every day, it has been going to the tribunal. From tenure elongation to this present case. But today, we are smiling because the tribunal has restored democracy. I thank God for using the judiciary to restore democracy.
“Let me pass this message to people out there. The wealthiest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is not known for taking people to court with all his money.
“People here in the FCT, because God blessed you with money, all you know is dragging people to court. If you want to contest, go and ask people to vote for you. Don’t think that the judiciary is where you can go and win elections.
“The judiciary is for the common man. So, I thank the judiciary for restoring democracy and for standing with the common people. I thank God the whole thing has ended.”
S.O
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