| Alhassan Doguwa |
The National and State House of Assembly tribunal sitting at Miller road, Kano has dismissed the petition filled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the election of the Majority Leader of the Federal House of reps and member representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada constituency, Alhassan Doguwa.
The three-man panel led by Justice Nayai Aganaba held that the petitioners failed to prove the allegations bordering on corrupt practices, over voting, violence and ballot snatching filed against the respondents.
The court stated that the issues raised against the election of Alhassan Doguwa were weighty allegations that ought to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, explaining that some of the allegations were criminal in nature.
According to the court, the petitioners failed to attract the attention of the panel to figures that would substantiate the claimed issue of over voting in some polling units, adding that the allegation of over voting wasn’t accompanied with voter register thereby rendering the allegation null and void.
The tribunal also noted there was no witness who gave testimony before it claiming he or she was deprived from voting, thereby dismissing the allegations of disenfranchisement of voters as alleged by the petitioners.
Ruling on the allegations faulting INEC of pronouncing a falsified results against the true number of votes cast, Justice Nayai said the petitioners throughout the trial did not present to the court the supposed copies of the alleged original and falsified election results .
Earlier the court dismissed the allegations professed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP faulting the election of AbdulMumuni Jubrin Kofa(APC) representing Bebeji/Kiru Federal constituency.
The panel said PDP could not prove the claimed defaults in the conduct of the elections in which it urged the court to declare the outcome of the election in favor of Aliyu Datti of the PDP.
The chairman of the panel, Justice Nayai Aganaba held that the elections held in Bebeji/Kiru were conducted in compliance with the provisions of the electoral act, the court further ordered PDP to pay the sum of N200, 000 as cost.
Also, the panel ordered PDP to pay the sum of N300,000 to All Progressive Congress(APC) the tribunal gave the order on the grounds that PDP failed to prove its petition challenging the elections into the Federal House of reps for Minjibir/Ungogo Federal constituency.