Yobe North: Why Supreme Court Restored Lawan As APC Candidate

The Supreme Court, in a split decision on Monday, reinstated Senate President Ahmed Lawan as the APC’s candidate for the Yobe North Senatorial election.

While three members of the Supreme Court’s five-member panel upheld an appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to challenge the nomination of Bashir Sheriff Machina as its senatorial candidate, two other Justices on the panel dissentingly dismissed the appeal.

The Supreme Court, in the lead majority judgment read by Justice Centus Nweze, ruled that Machina’s suit filed before the Federal High Court, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize his candidacy, was incompetent.

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It ruled that because the suit contained allegations of fraud, it should have been started with a Writ of Summons to allow witnesses to testify.

In his lead minority decision, Justice Adamu Jauro stated that there was sufficient evidence to establish that Lawan validly withdrew from the Senatorial race, allowing him to participate in the APC presidential primary election.

He noted that the APC, as the Appellant before it, did not contest the evidence that Lawan voluntarily withdrew from the Senatorial primary election held by the party on May 28, 2022, in order to pursue his presidential ambition.

Furthermore, Justice Jauro ruled that because Machina won the said primary election, it was improper for the APC to hold another primary election after Lawan lost his presidential bid.

He ruled that by holding a new primary election without first canceling the results of the previous election, which Machina won, the APC violated Section 84 of the Electoral Act of 2022.

It ruled that the subsequent primary election, which was held on June 9, 2022, was void because it was not monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as required by law.

Furthermore, Justice Jauro ruled that Lawan lacked the legal right to participate in any senatorial primary election because he had participated in the party’s presidential primary election.

He ruled that the APC’s appeal to overturn Machina’s nomination as its senatorial candidate was without merit.

As a result, he upheld the earlier Court of Appeal decision in the case and awarded the APC N10 million in costs.