The Federal High Court, Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by Aisha Dahiru-Ahmed, candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the last Adamawa governorship election.
Dahiru-Ahmed, better known as Binani, had sought for judicial review of the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission to reverse her earlier announcement as winner of the election by the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, her lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, informed the court about the notice of discontinuance filed by the plaintiff and prayed the court to strike out the suit.
Following the motion for discontinuance, Justice Inyang Ekwo reminded Sheriff that an order was given on the last adjourned date directing him to address the court on whether the court had the jurisdiction to entertain the case or not.
The lawyer, who informed the court that a lot of issues had come up between the last date of adjournment and today, begged for an order striking out the suit.
The judge, however, held that since Sheriff had failed to go by the order of the court, the appropriate thing to do was to dismiss the matter.
“I hereby make an order dismissing this suit,” Justice Ekwo declared.
But the electoral umpire had, on April 19, declared the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate and Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri the winner of the governorship election held in the state
Binani and APC, in the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/510/2023, had sued INEC, PDP and its candidate, Gov. Fintiri as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.
Binani, through her lawyer, Hussaini Zakariyau, SAN, had sought a judicial review of the administrative decision of INEC on April 16 in respect of her declaration as the winner of the governorship elections held on March 18 and the supplementary poll of April 15.
