By DaudaR Pam
Supreme Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by Alhaji Idris Mamman Gatumba, a serving director at the federal ministry of agriculture, challenging the election of Professor Babagana Umara Zulum as Governor of Borno State.
The court also dismissed a similar appeal filed by Hajja Fati Kaakenna Alkali Monguno who was challenging the election of Senator Abubakar Shaib Kyari representing Borno north.
In the judgment, five justices of the Supreme Court, led by Hon justice John Iyang Okoro dismissed both appeals for lacking in merit.
Idris and Kaakenna, who separately challenged the September/October, 2018 APC primaries in Borno State, had approached the supreme court after losing at both the court of appeal in Jos and the federal high court in Maiduguri.
At the supreme court, counsel to Idris and Kaakenna, I K Bawa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had filed his briefs of arguments, praying the court to invoke its powers and set aside the concurrent judgements of the court of Appeal and federal high court in Maiduguri. The counsel wanted the court to remove Governor Zulum and Senator Kyari from office and declare Idris and Kaakenna validly elected as Governor and Senator.
However, counsel to Professor Zulum and Senator Kyari, Yusuf Ali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, represented in court by K K Eleja, also a senior advocate, argued that the appeals were statute barred hence lacking in merit. He argued that the appeals be summarily dismissed.
Five judges of the Supreme Court agreed with the argument and dismissed the two appeals.
With the supreme Court judgment, both Idris and Kaakenna have reached the end of the road in their litigation against the governorship and senatorial primaries in Borno State.
Ends
