Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Kebbi Governor’s Election

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit challenging the election of Atiku Bagudu as the governor of Kebbi state.

Delivering a ruling on the matter on Friday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed dismissed the suit for lacking in merit.

The trial judge held that the plaintiff did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the governor was not qualified to run for office and that he lied under oath.

Bagudu was elected governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections which saw the APC takeover power at the centre.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Major-General Bello Sarkin-Yaki, in the poll had filed the originating summons before the court.

General Sarkin-Yaki asked the court to hold that Governor Bagudu was not qualified to contest the election because he did not possess the requisite academic qualification to contest.

He had also claimed that the governor made a false declaration on the form he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).