Appeals: PDP, Lawmakers Decry Conflicting Verdicts In Plateau

Obviously disenchanted with what it alleged to be conflicting judgements on the plateau, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on president of the Court of Appeal to immediately disband the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel.

Accordingly, the party called for the constitution of a new Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel to hear the remaining appeals on grounds that the current panel has shown manifest bias to unduly favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.

In the same vein, PDP lawmakers in the Plateau State House of Assembly faulted the use of pre-election matters to settle the legal fireworks at the appellate court, noting that it may lead to nullification of electoral victories won by the PDP.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja, majority leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon Yobo Maren, denounced the use of pre-election matters as the basis for the nullification of certain election results.

In the same vein, PDP national publicity secretary, Hon Debo Ologunagba, at a press conference yesterday in the party’s secretariat, said the continued retention of the present panel will be construed as an act of insensitivity and injustice.

Ologunagba alleged that the “manifestly biased” and inconsistent judgments of the electoral panel already delivered in the Appeals should be subjected to judicial review.

The party spokesman faulted what he called the “dangerous pattern of varying and conflicting judicial pronouncements by the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel” sitting in Abuja.

He said the Appeal Court panel brazenly departed from the judicial practice where cases with similar facts and applicable laws, especially before the same Court, at the same material time, result in same outcome.

The party spokesman said, “What is more disturbing is that in all the Appeal cases, the Court ordered a rerun where the PDP won and the APC came third, while where the APC came second, it ordered that the Certificate of Return issued to the victorious PDP candidate be withdrawn and a new Certificate of Return be issued to the APC candidate, who came second in the election.

“Specifically, in the case of Plateau North Senatorial District won by Sen. Simon Mwadkwon of the PDP and the APC candidate coming third, the Panel in its judgment in Court of Appeal No. CA/J/EP/PL/SEN/12/2023 delivered on Sunday 22nd October, 2023 curiously annulled PDP’s victory and ordered INEC to conduct a rerun election among all the parties.

“In the case of Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency won by Hon. Musa Agar of the PDP and where the APC candidate also came third, the Panel in its judgment in Court of Appeal No. CA/J/EP/PL/HR/14/2023 delivered on Friday 27th October, 2023 annulled the victory of the PDP and ordered a rerun excluding the PDP.

“In the third Appeal Case of Shendam/Quaan-Pan/Mikang Federal Constituency, won by Hon. Isaac Kwallu of the PDP with John Dafwan of the APC as runner-up, the Appeal Court Justices in Court of Appeal No. CA/J/EP/PL/HR/18/2023 annulled the victory of the PDP candidate, declared the APC candidate as outright winner and ordered that the Certificate of Return issued to the victorious PDP candidate be withdrawn and a fresh Certificate of Return issued to the APC candidate.”

Lamenting the panel’s position has heightened tension in Plateau State, he said PDP has instructed its lawyers to take necessary steps to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the matter.

On his part, the majority leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon Yobo Maren, at a separate press conference in Abuja, said Appeal Court based its verdict on the Plateau State High Court’s judgement which ordered for repeat congress, a pre-election matter, which had since been complied with.

He said allowing the issue of nomination and sponsorship of candidates to be the crux of the matter as contained in the APC petition was outside the purview of the Appeal Court as settled by the Supreme Court.

“The issue of nomination and sponsorship was the crux of the APC’s petition and all other petitions which are pre-election matters that the Supreme Court has since settled. The Court of Appeal deliberately chose not to look at the evidence of the PDP before the tribunal.

“The Court of Appeal did not deliver the judgements based on the law and the facts, as the law, as it is, are quite different from the position of the Court of Appeal,” the lawmaker noted.

Maren said PDP complied with the order of the Plateau State High Court by conducting a repeat congress on September 25, 2021, insisting that none of the parties in the said order of the High Court ever challenged the repeat congress after the congress.

“We wonder why the Court of Appeal did not consider the Report of the Repeat Congress as tendered and admitted in evidence as the Repeat Congress did clearly showed that the PDP complied with the order of the Plateau State High Court,” the majority leader explained.