Breaking: Appeal Court Sacks Kwankwaso, Upholds Datti’s Election
Breaking: Appeal Court Sacks Kwankwaso, Upholds Datti’s Election
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has sacked Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and reinstated Yusuf Umar Datti of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as the winner of the Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency Election.
In a unanimous decision, the three-panel court led by Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awotoye held that the tribunal was wrong to have counted the date of Datti’s resignation from the APC as the date of the party’s primary election.
The court also held that Section 77 of the Electoral Act was misapplied in this case, as no court has jurisdiction to determine the issue of membership of a political party.
The court’s decision is a major victory for Datti and the NNPP. It is also a setback for Kwankwaso and the APC, who had been challenging Datti’s election since 2019.
The case dates back to the 2019 general election, in which Datti defeated Kwankwaso to win the Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency seat.
Kwankwaso subsequently filed a petition at the tribunal, challenging Datti’s election on the grounds that he was not a validly nominated candidate of the NNPP.
The tribunal ruled in Kwankwaso’s favor in 2020, and Datti appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has now overturned the tribunal’s decision and reinstated Datti as the winner of the election.
The court’s decision is final and binding, meaning that Kwankwaso has no further legal avenues to challenge Datti’s election.
Datti is therefore expected to be sworn in as the member representing the Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in the coming days.
