Appeal Court sacks Bauchi deputy speaker, orders rerun

Appeal Court sacks Bauchi deputy speaker, orders rerun

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has sacked the Deputy Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Jamilu Barade.

The court also ordered a rerun in some polling units.

Barade’s sack came less than four days after the appellate court sacked the Speaker of the state assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, as a member representing the Ningi Central Constituency in the Ningi Local Government Area of the state.

Suleiman is the immediate past Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria.

The three-man panel of the appellate court in a judgment delivered late Monday, set aside the ruling of the Bauchi State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which had earlier affirmed the election of Barade of the Peoples Democratic Party as the duly elected member representing Bauchi Central State constituency.

The APC candidate in the election had filed a petition at the tribunal challenging the declaration of Dahiru as winner of the election, claiming that there was overvoting in nine polling units, the tribunal however dismissed the petition.

But dissatisfied with the judgment, the APC candidate went on appeal to further his case which the Appeal Court decided in his favour ordering for a rerun in a number of the polling units.

The court further ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to retrieve the Certificate of Return earlier issued to the Deputy Speaker and conduct rerun elections in the affected polling units before determining the eventual winner.

The court therefore ordered elections in some polling units in the constituency, where the appellant, Aliyu Ilela, of the APC, also alleged over-voting.