Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has filed an ex parte motion with the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking a review of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s decision to void her controversial declaration as the winner of the Adamawa governorship election. The motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/510/2023, was filed on April 17.
The Adamawa governorship supplementary election was conducted on Saturday of April 15, 2023, following the declaration of the March 18 poll as inconclusive due to alleged irregularities. However, INEC discontinued the exercise after Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the resident electoral commissioner, declared Binani as the winner, despite outstanding results yet to be announced. The electoral body subsequently described his action as null and void, saying that the declaration of a winner is the responsibility of the returning officer.
Binani has now requested leave of the court to seek an order of prohibition and certiorari removing INEC's administrative decision made on April 16, 2023, with respect to the declaration of the winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa state held on March 18, 2023, and the supplementary election held on April 15, 2023. She also wants an order preventing INEC from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner from the said elections, pending the determination of the application for judicial review.
Binani claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of the state, resorted to violence after she was declared the winner, resulting in INEC staff being caught up in the violence and manhandled, leading to the cancellation of the initial declaration. Binani argued that INEC lacks the power to cancel an election result, as such power is constitutionally vested in the election petition tribunal.
Through her lawyers led by Hussaini Zakariyau, a senior advocate of Nigeria, Binani said a judicial review exists to enable the superior court to checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts, as well as the legislative and administrative arms of government, including agencies and public officers. She further argued that INEC, being an agency of the government, can have its actions, records, and decisions checked by the court, which can also nullify such actions and not the commission itself.
The case is now before the Federal High Court, and a ruling on the matter is expected to be made in due course.
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