Bauchi govt hails Supreme Court judgement

BAUCHI state government has hailed last Friday’s Supreme Court judgement which set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and upheld the trial Court Judgement on the 2014 APC gubernatorial primaries which was won by the State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar.

A press statement signed and issued by the Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs to the Governor, Ali Mohammed Ali contained that in the Supreme Court case SC:854/2016 between MA Abubakar and Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Tanko and two others, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Governor.

The statement further contains that in the suit filed by one Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Tanko (Orlando) had secured a favourable judgement at the Appeal Court sitting in Jos challenging the December 2014 APC primary election that returned MA Abubakar as the APC gubernatorial flag bearer and subsequent election as Governor in 2015.

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It further contained that the Respondent (Abdullahi Tanko) had earlier lost his case in the trial court and thereafter rushed to the Appeal Court sitting in Jos to upturn the verdict of the court that upheld the election of MA Abubakar as duly elected.

The appellant (MA Abubakar) however, appealed to the Supreme Court faulting the entire judgement of the Appeal Court verdict on several grounds, the statement added.

While delivering his judgement last Friday, Justice Sidi Bage, set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal and upheld the trial court judgment by agreeing with the Counsel to the appellant that the lower court (Appeal Court) erred on two major fronts and thereby set aside those judgments and upheld the trial court verdict.

With the legal battle now over, it is believed that the Governor can now face the act of governance properly as well as continue to strategize for his reelection bid in the 2019 election.