The Court of Appeal has reinstated Mukhtar Umar Yarima, the member representing Tarauni Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Yarima, who belonged to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), had faced the ignominy of having his election invalidated by the National and State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Kano on August 11th.
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The tribunal, presided over by Justice I.P. Chima, had ruled that Yarima was ineligible for his position due to the alleged presentation of a forged copy of his primary school certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the tribunal, Yarima’s claim of a name change in 2022 didn’t hold water, as he had been using three names (Umar Mukhtar Zakari) on his international passports since 2009, while his primary school certificate still bore the name Umar Mukhtar.
Furthermore, the tribunal stated that the primary school, Hausawa Primary School, had disowned the certificate presented by the lawmaker.
However, in a remarkable twist, the appellate court delivered a different verdict on Saturday, disagreeing with the tribunal. The Court of Appeal held that the tribunal had failed to establish a case of forgery against Yarima, leading to the reversal of his sack as a member of the House of Representatives
