The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the election victories of Senators Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, and Kaka Lawan, who represents Borno Central. The three-member panel, led by Justice Biobele Georgewill, found that the two appeals against these lawmakers were without merit.
Initially, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ndume and Lawan as the winners of their respective senatorial districts in the National Assembly elections. However, Muhammed Kumalia and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contested Lawan’s election, and Kudla Satumari and PDP filed a petition against Ndume at the state’s election tribunal.
Despite their efforts, the Borno State National and State’s Election Petition Tribunal dismissed both petitions. Dissatisfied with these tribunal judgments, Kumalia and Satumari appealed to the Court of Appeal.
During the proceedings, senior lawyers Yusuf Ali, Johnson Usman, and Marcel Oru represented the respective parties, urging the court to dismiss the appeals for their lack of merit.
In its final verdict, the Court of Appeal concurred with the senior lawyers’ arguments, ruling that the appeals challenging the senators’ elections were indeed without merit. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeals and affirmed the elections of Senators Lawan and Ndume.
