The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed the appeal filed by Saidu Umar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), affirming the election of Ahmed Aliyu as the Governor of Sokoto State.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Tijani Abubakar today, the apex court upheld the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Tribunal.
Saidu Umar, the appellant, contested the March 2023 gubernatorial election in Sokoto State against Ahmed Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umar and the PDP sought to set aside the previous judgments, citing electoral malpractices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act as grounds for nullifying Aliyu’s election.
Despite presenting allegations of irregularities, Umar’s petition was dismissed by the Sokoto Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in September 2023. The tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Unsatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, Umar proceeded to the Court of Appeal in Abuja but faced another setback as the appellate court affirmed Aliyu’s election.
The Supreme Court, the highest court in Nigeria, has now delivered a final verdict, dismissing Umar’s appeal and upholding Ahmed Aliyu as the duly elected Governor of Sokoto State. The judgment marks the end of the legal challenges to the election results.
Last year, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Aliyu of the APC as the winner of the governorship election in Sokoto State, with 453,661 votes against Umar’s 404,632 votes.
