The Court of Appeal has set aside the judgement of the National and State Houses of Assembly Tribunal voiding Umar Mukhtari Zakari’s (NNPP) election to the Tarauni Federal Constituency, Kano State.
In a judgement on Saturday in Abuja, a three-member court upheld the arguments of Mahmud Magaji (SAN), a lawyer for Zakari and the NNPP, that the tribunal erred in law in reaching its decision.
In Justice Obande Ogbuinya’s lead judgement, the Court of Appeal held that the tribunal was wrong to conclude that Zakari forged his credentials when the petitioners failed to establish their claim.
Zakari was declared the winner of the February 25 election, but Ibrahim Hafiz Kawu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenged this in a March 17, 2023, petition.
The petitioners claimed that Zakari purportedly forged the Housawa Special Primary School certificate he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because the name on it was simply “Muktar Umar.”
The Court of Appeal, in its judgment on Saturday, held that the respondents, who were petitioners at the tribunal, failed to prove that Zakari was not the same person who attended the school and was awarded the certificate.
It proceeded to set aside the tribunal’s judgment, allowing the appeal and affirmed Zakari’s election.
