Appeal Court Sacks Bauchi Deputy Speaker, PDP Lawmaker

A few days after sacking the speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Sulaiman, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has removed the deputy speaker, Hon Jamilu Umaru Dahiru Barade.

The three-man panel of justices in a judgement delivered on Monday set aside the judgement of Bauchi State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal which affirmed the election of Barade as the duly elected member representing Bauchi Central constituency.

The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retrieve the certificate of return earlier issued to the deputy speaker.

Similarly, the justices ordered a rerun election in some polling units where the appellant, APC candidate, Aliyu Abdullahi Ilela alleged over-voting.

Earlier at the tribunal, the complainant, Ilela sought cancellation of results from nine polling  units where he alleged over-voting and other irregularities.

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The judgement came a few days after the appellate court sacked the Speaker of the House, Abubakar Sulaiman.

In another judgement, the justice sacked the member representing Zungur/Galambi Constituency, Sa’idu Yusuf Ahmad, PDP following the appeal filed by counsels to APC candidate, Ibrahim Isah Yuguda who is a son to a former Bauchi State governor, Isah Yuguda.

Reacting to the judgement, one of the counsels to the deputy speaker, Barrister Aminu Balarabe Isah said the number of polling units where rerun elections will be conducted is not clear, adding that due to time constraint, the judges only gave a summary of their judgement.

He said the number of affected polling units will be known when the certified true copy of the judgement is made available by the court.

On his part, one of the lawyers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Barrister UB Darazo said the judgement is just and fair.

He said the APC and its candidate are thrilled and happy with the judgement.

“It is an indication that the 2023 elections in Bauchi are faulty,” he said.