The All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate in the last election in Adamawa State, Sen. Aishatu Dahiru, today urging the Federal High Court in Abuja to allow the election petition tribunal sitting in the state to deliver its judgement before the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa Ari, is prosecuted.
Aisha Dahiru, also known as Binani, made the plea before Justice Donatus Okorowo, through her counsel, Chiesonu Okpoko, SAN, while adopting the processes filed in respect of her suit.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Binani had sued INEC, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation as 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively.
In the suit, the applicant sought the interpretation of Section 144 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and a preservative order seeking the maintenance of status quo by parties pending the hearing and determination of the suit.
The lawyer prayed the court to restrain the respondents from prosecuting the INEC resident electoral commissioner pending the determination of Binani’s petition at the tribunal.
He based his argument on the grounds that prosecuting the suspended REC now, while Binani was still challenging INEC’s declaration of Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party as Adamawa governor after she had earlier been declared the winner of the governorship poll, might create a likelihood of bias in the decision of the tribunal.
Okpoko further submitted that the applicant was not saying that Ari should not be prosecuted but that INEC and others should wait until the tribunal gave its judgement within the 180 days prescribed by law.
He said the decision of INEC to file the action against any person involved in Binani’s April 15 declaration as winner of the supplementary poll in the state when the tribunal was yet to determine the petition of their client, would deprive her of Section 285(6) of the law which gives 180 days within which the petition filed on May 6 should be dispensed with