The Abuja Court of Appeal has invalidated Suleiman Wanchiko’s victory in the Bida I (North) State Constituency election in Niger, removed him as the winner, and declared Bako Kasim of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful victor.
Justice Bature Isa-Gafai, leading a three-member panel, deemed Wanchiko’s appeal baseless.
The court concurred with Kasim’s representative, Johnson Usman, SAN, asserting that Wanchiko, by submitting a forged testimonial to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was ineligible for the election.
Previously, INEC had proclaimed Wanchiko as the winner with 12,062 votes, surpassing Kasim’s 11,820 votes in the March 18 Bida I (North) Constituency poll for the Niger State House of Assembly election.
Displeased with this outcome, Kasim and the APC filed a petition with the state’s election petition tribunal (Petition No: EPT/NG/SHA/11/2023), contending that Wanchiko’s candidacy was invalid due to the submission of a forged testimonial and the election’s non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022.
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The tribunal, after thorough deliberation, found merit in Kasim’s petition, disqualifying Wanchiko and ordering a re-run without his participation.
Unhappy with the tribunal’s decision, Wanchiko, represented by Aliyu Lemu, SAN, appealed to the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the tribunal’s ruling.
In response, Kasim’s legal counsel urged the court to reject Wanchiko’s appeal and reinstate his client as the legitimate winner.
The appellate court sided with Usman’s argument, affirming Wanchiko’s disqualification and directing INEC to issue Kasim a Certificate of Return.