JUST-IN: Supreme Court Affirms Gombe Gov Inuwa’s Victory

The Supreme Court of Nigeria, on Friday morning, affirmed the election of the governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, and consequently dismissed the appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 18, 2023 election, Mohammed Barde.

Barde had challenged Inuwa’s victory at the State Election Petitions Trubunal, Appeal Court and up to the apex court on the ground that the governorship election in the state was marred by vote buying.

However, all the three courts affirmed Inuwa as the duly elected governor, describing Barde’s petition as unmerited.

At the Supreme Court, a five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal.

LEADERSHIP recalls that earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court had dismissed the appeal brought by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its candidate, Nafiu Bala, against the victory of Governor Inuwa.

ADC and Bala had sought to contest the outcome of the election despite scoring less than 2,000 votes in the election.

However, the apex court queried what the party and its candidate wanted to achieve by the appeal.

In response to the mood of the court, the lawyers representing Nafiu Bala and ADC promptly withdrew the appeal, leading to the dismissal of the case by the highest court.