The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, berated the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC, inferring that the electoral body is being partisan.
The Appeal court noted that it was embarrassing that INEC could disown documents it not only issued but also duly certified.
The court says the electoral body has continued to “dance naked in the market,” despite it being meant to assume a neutral stand in election litigations.
The court while delivering judgment in a Bauchi State House of Assembly election appeal said:
“The INEC as an institution should be reminded of its role in an election; to be an unbiased umpire between parties.
“It should stop behaving irresponsibly, having in mind that its duty to conduct election has a direct bearing on peace and well-being of the country.
“The role of INEC in election dispute should be limited to the tendering of all the documents used in an election and explaining what they were used for and how they were obtained.
“INEC should stop dancing naked in the market, pretending that no one is seeing its unclothedness and its dancing steps”.
The three-member panel of the appeal court in its lead judgement delivered by Justice K. I. Amadi and concurred by other members of the panel nullified the election of the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, who had earlier being declared the winner of Ningi Central Constituency in the state, by INEC.
The appellate court in its ruling held that evidence before it established that the election was inconclusive.
The appeal court voided the Certificate of Return issued to Suleiman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and directed INEC to conduct a supplementary poll in 10 polling units in the state, within 90 days.
A cost of N500,000 was awarded against INEC.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the election, Khalid Abdulmalik-Nini had appealed against the declaration of Suleiman of the PDP who was announced to have polled a total of 16, 866 votes to defeat Abdulmalik-Ningi of the APC, who scored 15, 065 votes in the election held on March 18.
The APC candidate while lodging a petition before the State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, alleged that the results of the election were cancelled due to over-voting or corrupt practices.
INEC, a Respondent in the matter, denied the claim that there was over-voting, but failed produce any witness before the tribunal which eventually dismissed the petition.
The appeal court while faulting the tribunal decision, noted that the Appellant brought nine witnesses who testified in respect of the various polling units and also tendered certified copies of INEC documents to support his case.
The court surmised that by Section 137 of the Electoral Act 2022, the certified INEC documents were enough to sustain the allegation that the election was not conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law.
The court queried INEC’s denial that the results of the election were cancelled in some polling units even as its officials established the same fact in Forms EC 40G that they signed and submitted to it.
