Appeal Court Affirms Election Of Katung As Kaduna Senator

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the victory of Senator Sunday Marshall Katung as the valid winner of the Kaduna South senatorial election.

The three-member panel presided over by Justice Moore A. Adumein in a unanimous decision, upheld the judgement of the National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Kaduna, which had dismissed the petition of the Labour Party (LP)candidate, Michael Ayuba Auta for lacking merit.

The court held that the tribunal was right in upholding the victory of Senator Sunday Marshall Katung of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to Justice Adumein, “even a casual reading of the judgment reveals that the tribunal was very articulate and thorough in its Judgment”

“The tribunal was right when it held that Michael Ayuba Auta failed to prove that the election was invalid because of corrupt practices,” the court declared.

The court held that Michael Ayuba Auta of the Labour Party failed to prove the criminal allegation of allocation of unlawful votes to the winner of the February election.

While dismissing the appeal, the court also awarded N600,000 against Michael Ayuba Auta in favour of Senator Sunday Marshall Katung, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and PDP.