Election Tribunal In Plateau Resumes Emergency Sitting On Six Exparte Applications Of Wase, Gagdi, Four Others

Yakubu Busari

The National Assembly Election petition tribunal sitting in Jos Plateau State on Tuesday held a sitting outside the pre-trial session.

The emergency sitting held was to attend to six exparte applications brought before it by applicants who participated in the February, 25 elections as candidates of their various political parties but lost out.

Our Judiciary correspondent gathered that the tribunal sitting at the west of mines on Tuesday commenced hearing on applications of aggrieved candidates of the 25th February 2023 .

However, out of the number of the petitions, five are for the house of representatives while one is for the plateau North Senatorial seat.

All six petitioners presented their prayers through exparte applications.  Ibrahim Baba Hassan’s petition is against the victory of Musa Agah Aviah of the PDP for The Jos North Bassa House of the Representative seat.

His counsel Ishaq Magaji SAN had through an exparte application sought the powers of the tribunal to direct the Independent National electoral commission to avail him access to the gamut of documents relating to the election that was conducted in the federal constituency for inspection to include a list of polling unit results as uploaded by the BVAS machine.

Baba Hassan also requested records of publications of all the units in the federal constituency.

The same counsel Ibrahim Bala ‘SAN’ is representing Ambassador Chris Giwa of the Plateau North Senatorial zone.

Giwa is challenging his loss to Dr. Simon Mwatkwong Fwet for the Plateau North Senatorial seat.

It disclosed that Chrisantus Z John of the PDP is challenging the Victory of Yusuf Adamu Gagdi for the Pankshin Kanke Kanam federal constituency seat,  So also is Solomon Bulus Maren for Mangu  Bokkos federal constituency whose petition is against INEC.

Ibrahim Kanje Bawa of the PDP is also challenging the victory of the current deputy speaker of the house of representatives Ahmed Idris Wase for the Wase federal constituency, describing his loss as a product of superior rigging which is not good for the system.

However, Hon.Fom Dalyop Chollom of the Labour Party through an exparte application by his counsel B I Shehu is also holding INEC to jugular Bone demanding for the release of documents used for the February 25th election.

Incidentally, this lone issue turned out to be the only prayers of all the petitioners before the Election tribunal.

In its response to all the exparte applications, the tribunal in its unanimous ruling viewed all their pleas as Meritorious and in the interest of justice granted all and directed INEC to make available unto the parties access to all the materials sought for inspection.

The only learned Silk that was in the sitting Ishaq Magaji Speak urging the tribunal to compelled the INEC to allow the BVAS machine to be inspected ahead of the governorship ,state assembly election .

Meanwhile no date has been mentioned on when the tribunal will hold its pre- trial conference which will set in motion process for full sitting of the Tribunal.