The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and it’s candidate for Jama’are/Itas Gadau federal constituency in the 2023 general elections, Hon. Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, has condemned the Appeal Court judgment upturning his victory at the Tribunal
In a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, he condemned the request by the Appeal court asking the defendant to provide two sets of documents i.e the Original and Forged certificates alleged to have been forged in aid of his qualification to contest the 2023 election before he can successfully be said to have proved beyond reasonable doubt the allegation of certificate forgery by Bala Rabilu Kashiru, candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC). This is in clear violation of plethora of Supreme Court decisions that the only evidence to prove certificate forgery is a disclaimer or report from the institution purported to have issued it.
Recall that the Election Petition Tribunal for National Assembly and State House of Assembly for Bauchi State had upheld Hon. Jungudo Mohammed petition as the duly elected Member for the House of Representatives, representing Jama’are/Itas Gadau federal constituency.
“The petitioner who scored the next majority number of valid votes is declared as duly elected pursuant to Sections 136 (2) of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
Following this, the APC appealed the judgment, as the three member panel led by Justice Lawal Shuaibu, ruled that “the return of the 1st Respondent is here by nullified.
But in his remarks, the PDP candidate lamented that he has “lost confidence in the judiciary,” insisting that the witness (Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi) stressed that the APC candidate was not a student of the institute, and as such did not graduate from it.
Hon. Mohammed decried the refusal of the court to factor the evidence of the school into its decision, as he maintained that the Appeal Court judgment was not a reflection of justice.
