Court of Appeal sitting in Yola, on Thursday, restored the governorship candidacy of All Progressives Congress candidates, Emmanuel Bwacha and Aishatu Ahmed, also known as Aisha Binani, for Taraba and Adamawa states, respectively.
The Appellate court set aside a High Court nullifying their candidacies and also ordered that their names be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the APC governorship candidates for the two states.
The judgement was delivered by a panel of three justices of the Court of Appeal presided over by Justice T. Y Hassan. The two other members of the panel are Justice M. O. Bolaji (JCA1) and Justice J. G. Abundaga (JCA 2).
Recall that on October 13, Federal High Court in Yola, Adamawa State, had nullified Binani’s governorship candidacy of the APC in the state, based on suit FHC/YL/CS/12/2022 filed by another APC governorship aspirant, Nuhu Ribadu. The court had declared Binani’s candidature invalid and unlawful.
The court also refused to order a fresh APC governorship primary in Adamawa State.
But not satisfied by the court ruling, which refused to order a fresh primary that would have enabled him to contest the governorship, Ribadu filed an appeal in suit NO.CA/YL/203/2022 between him and APC and two others.
But in its ruling on Thursday, the court dismissed Ribadu’s appeal but allowed that of Binani seeking to overturn the judgement of the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Abdulaaziz Anka.
Earlier on September 20, 2022, the Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, and presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, nullified the governorship primary election which produced Senator Emmanuel Bwacha as the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 election.
The presiding judge in his ruling in the case filed by one of the governorship aspirants, David Kente, ordered INEC to conduct a fresh governorship primary in the state within 14 days.
The court also ordered Bwacha to stop parading himself as the APC governorship candidate and also directed INEC to stop recognising Bwacha as a candidate.
Bwacha had then assured his supporters to remain calm as the matter would be resolved in his favour.