APC’s Bako Kasim Declared Winner as Appeal Court Sacks PDP’s Suleiman Wanchiko in Niger Assembly Election.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Suleiman Wanchiko in the Bida I (North) State Constituency election in Niger State. The court declared Bako Kasim of the All Progressives Congress as the rightful winner of the poll.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Bature Isa-Gafai, delivered the judgment, stating that Mr. Wanchiko’s appeal lacked merit.
Breaking: Appeal Court Sacks Two PDP Lawmakers, Orders Rerun
The decision followed Mr. Kasim’s counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, successfully arguing that Mr. Wanchiko, who presented a forged testimonial to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), should be disqualified from contesting the election.
INEC initially declared Mr. Wanchiko the winner of the March 18 Assembly election with 12,062 votes against Mr. Kasim’s 11,820 votes.
Dissatisfied with this outcome, Mr. Kasim and the APC approached the state’s election petition tribunal, citing Mr. Wanchiko’s disqualification due to a forged testimonial and alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022.
Shock as Water Resources Ministry Spends N4 Billion on Recruitment of 100 Sanitation Personnel
The tribunal, after thorough consideration, found merit in the petitioners’ arguments, disqualified Mr. Wanchiko, and ordered a re-run without his participation. Unhappy with this decision, Mr. Wanchiko appealed to the Court of Appeal, seeking to set aside the tribunal’s judgment.
However, the appellate court upheld Mr. Usman’s argument, maintaining that Mr. Kasim, having been disqualified, should be declared the rightful winner of the poll. The court directed INEC to issue Mr. Kasim a Certificate of Return. This legal outcome reshapes the representation of Bida I (North) State Constituency in the Niger State Assembly.
