Gombe tribunal fines 3 parties N.25m over unsubstantiated claims


The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Gombe Thursday has fined three political parties that had dragged the state governor-elect Muhammadu Yahaya and the APC N250,000 for failing to substantiate their allegations against the validity of the election.

The tribunal also granted them (People for Democratic Change (PDC), All Grassroots Alliance (AGA) and Alliance of Social Democratic (ASD)) permission  to withdraw their petitions challenging the election of Yahaya as Gombe governor-elect.

The three parties through their leaders Jungudo Muhammad Jungudo of the PDC, Muhammad Ibrahim of AGA and Aliyu Adamu of the ASD, had filed a suit challenging the return of Yahaya of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the March 16 governorship election.

They also joined in the suit the INEC and the returning officer for the election.

Delivering a ruling, a three-men panel, led by Justice Bello Tukur, chairman of tribunal, ordered the petitioners to pay N250,000 as cost to the defendants’ counsel Luka Haruna and Caleb Ubale.

The tribunal held that the cost was awarded to the defendant’s counsel, based on Section 30 of the Electoral Act.

In the application for withdrawal, counsel to petitioners, Abdullahi Abdulkadir, argued that his clients decided to withdraw the petitions because the applicants could not perfect and pay the professional fees of their counsels.

Besides, Abdulkadir said, the applicants’ witnesses after being informed of their role were no longer willing to testify because they felt threatened by their role in the case.

On April 8, the tribunal had ordered the INEC to allow candidates of the parties to inspect the electoral materials used in the governorship election. (NAN)

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