The Yobe State Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja has upheld the election of Ibrahim Mohammed Bomoi in Yobe South Senatorial District.
A three-member panel, yesterday, held that the petitioners, Senator Mohammed Hassan and his party, PDP, failed to prove their claims that Bomoi did not win with majority of lawful votes and that the election was held without substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.
It therefore dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.
The tribunal’s chairman, Justice Susan Oji, upheld the argument of Bomoi’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), that majority of the evidence led by the petitioners’ witnesses were laced with hearsay evidence, to which the tribunal could not attach any probative value.
“In the final analysis, I hold that the petitioners failed to prove their case. The petition is hereby dismissed,” Justice Oji said.
Hassan, who polled 89,049 votes, alleged that Bomoi, who got 118,729 votes, was allotted invalid votes, adding that the said figures did not arise from the conduct of the February 23 senatorial election.
Adopting his written address, yesterday, counsel to Hassan, Paul Erokoro (SAN), stated that the lawful votes cast during the election were far below what the INEC declared for the election.
According to Erokoro, findings showed that the lawful votes cast during the elections placed his client (the petitioner) to have scored 37,429 votes as against 28,765 votes scored by the respondent.
Erokoro stated that the 118,729 votes declared for the APC candidate against 89,049 declared for PDP candidate were not the true reflection of what transpired during voting.
He urged the tribunal to declare his candidate as the true winner of the election due to the irregularities perceived in the 44 political wards, and 553 polling units scattered in the four local government areas of the senatorial district comprising Potiskum, Fika, Nangere, and Fune.
