The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 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.
In a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, he condemned the request by the court asking the defendant to provide proof of certificate forgery by Bala Rabilu Kashiru, candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He also condemned the decision of the court demanding evidence of payment for certified true copies of Independent National Electoral Commission’s documents which were tendered in evidence.
Recall that the Election Petition Tribunal for National Assembly and State House of Assembly for Bauchi state had upheld Hon. Mohammed as the duly elected member for the House of Representatives, representing Jama’are/Itas Gadau federal constituency.
Following this, the APC candidate 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.
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.”
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.
