Adamawa Governorship Poll: Supreme Court slams INEC’s suspended REC, Yunusa-Ari

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, upheld the re-election of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State.

The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, dismissed an appeal the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Senator Aisha Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that held in the state on March 18, 2023.It held that the appeal lacked both substance and merit.However, before the case was dismissed, the apex court berated the suspended .

Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, who had midway into the electoral process, declared Senator Dahiru as the winner of the contest.

In the lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, the Supreme Court held that the suspended Adamawa REC engaged in an act of “irresponsibility and criminality.”

The court added that the APC candidate wallowed in self deceit, when she clinged on the unlawful and unconstitutional act of the REC to claim that she won the governorship poll.

According to the Supreme Court, the Electoral Act, 2022, specified who should declare the result of an election, stressing that such power was exclusively donated to the Returning Officer by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

It held that the law made it clear that only a Returning Officer that was duly appointed by the INEC could exercise the authority to announce results of an election, so as to avert chaos and anarchy in the process.

Besides, the apex court wondered why the suspended REC vanished shortly after his action and also failed to appear before the tribunal to justify the declaration he made. 

It held that neither Senator Dahiru nor the APC was able to establish through oral or documentary evidence, that they secured majority of lawful votes that were cast at the election, other than the unlawful declaration that was made in their favour by the suspended REC.

“From the evidence adduced before this court, the election of March 18, 2023, was inconclusive. A supplementary election was ordered and conducted. While the results of the supplementary election was being awaited, the REC did what he did.

“The questions are; why was the Resident Electoral Commissioner so hasty? What motivated him? Why did he take up the function of the Returning Officer?

“The REC ought to have been called as a vital witness by the Appellants, at least to make some clarifications. In his absence, there is nothing the court can do.

“It must however be clearly stated here that the REC acted ultra vires. He is not competent to announce election results.

“It is the express duty of INEC to give duty and responsibility and by evidence here, the duty was donated to the Returning Officer.

“By that singular act, it is the Returning Officer and no other person that can announce election results. It is exclusively for the Returning Officer.

“The announcement of the results by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the instant case, is illegal, unlawful, null and void.

“He acted with unbridled effontry. It is an act of irresponsibility and criminality and should not be allowed.

“It is only the Returning Officer that is vested with power to make declaration of election results and this is to avoid chaos,” Justice Okoro added.

The Supreme Court warned that public officers should always act within the law in the discharge of their responsibilities and not get carried away by greed.

In his contribution, another member of the panel, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, noted that Appellants only called three witnesses from 27 Local Government Areas in the state, to challenge the outcome of the gubernatorial poll.

Justice Saulawa held that it was wrong for the Appellants and their lawyers to rely on Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022 to “dump documents on the court,” without demonstrating them through relevant witnesses.

It will be recalled that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had earlier granted INEC the permission to prosecute its suspended REC in Adamawa State, Yunusa-Ari.

Yunusa-Ari is facing a six-count charge over alleged unlawful role he played in the Adamawa State governorship election. 

INEC had initially declared that the gubernatorial election was inconclusive and ordered a supplementary poll. 

However, midway into the collation of results of the supplementary poll that held on April 15, the suspended Adamawa REC, Yunusa-Ari, sidelined protocols and announced the APC candidate, Binani, as the winner.

The action elicited instant reactions, with the electoral body not only voiding Yunusa-Ari’s action but equally placing him on an indefinite suspension.

Meanwhile, the APC and its candidate had through their team of lawyers led by Chief Akinolu Olujimi, SAN, prayed the Supreme Court to nullify governor Fintiri’s re-election.

They urged the court to set aside the concurrent verdict of the Court of Appeal and the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which dismissed their case and upheld Fintiri’s re-election.

Senator Dahiru insisted that she polled the majority of valid votes cast at the election and was validly declared the winner by the state’s REC.

She, among other things, prayed the court to determine who ought to announce result in a gubernatorial election.

However, Fintiri, through his lawyer, Mr. Damian Dodo, SAN, urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal and validate his election victory.

Fintiri argued that he emerged victorious, having secured the majority of lawful votes and fulfilled all the requirements of the law. 

Likewise, both the PDP and INEC, prayed the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm Fintiri’s election victory.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had on December 18, 2023, also dismissed Senator Dahiru’s appeal, even as it awarded a cost of N1million against her.

While upholding governor Fintiri’s election, the appellate court held that Senator Dahiru’s appeal was vague and incompetent, adding that it found no reason to compel the INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return it earlier issued to governor Fintiri.

Dissatisfied with the judgement, Senator Dahiru and the APC took the case to the Supreme Court, where they lost on Wednesday.

INEC had at the end of a supplementary election that held in Adamawa State, announced that Fintiri polled 430,861 votes to defeat Senator Dahiru of the APC who got a total of 398,788 votes.

Not happy with the outcome of the poll, Binani approached the tribunal, alleging that the election was fraught with corrupt practices and manifest non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

She urged the Justice Theodora Obi Uloho-led tribunal to declare that she was the valid winner of the governorship election, a prayer the panel refused and dismissed her petition.

While affirming the decision of the tribunal, the appellate court, in its lead verdict that was read by Justice Ebiowei Tobi, held that the 27 grounds of appeal the APC candidate brought before it, lacked competence.

It held that the Appellants failed to by way of credible evidence, substantiate the allegations they raised against the outcome of the election, stressing that their claim that electoral fraud took place in 14,104 polling units in the state, was not proved.

The court noted that the record of proceedings transmitted from the tribunal, as well as the briefs of argument that were filed by the Appellants, were incomplete.

The appellate court further emphasised that only a Returning Officer at an election has the statutory power to declare results of the election.