The lawmaker argued in the application that the “only court with power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the Election Petition Tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution”.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has temporarily refused to entertain the exparte application filed before the court by the Adamawa State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Binani Dahiru.
Binani on Monday sought leave of the court to file an exparte application seeking an order of the court restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from invalidating her declaration as the winner of the governorship election in Adamawa State.
Binani in her application is seeking judicial review of the administrative decision of the INEC made on April 16 with respect to her declaration as winner of the governorship elections of Adamawa held on March 18 and the supplementary election of April 15, during which she was declared a winner by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state.
Binani and her political party in the application are seeking an order of Prohibition and Certiorari preventing INEC and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the elections pending the determination of her application for judicial review.
Listed in her application as respondents include INEC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.
Binani filed the application pursuant to Order 34 Rules 1a, Orders 3(1) & 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (civil procedure rules) 2019 and Section 251 (1)q & r of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Sections 149 & 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The lawmaker argued in the application that the “only court with power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the Election Petition Tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution”.
She noted that after voting was concluded in the supplementary governorship election on Saturday, and the subsequent collation of the same results, INEC “declared her as the winner of the gubernatorial election and was thereby returned as elected".
According to Binani, pursuant to the declaration, any dissatisfied candidate in the election is to seek redress at the tribunal.
The Senator faulted INEC's cancellation of her declaration by the REC on Sunday, saying that INEC “has no powers to cancel or declare the declaration as been made as null and void”.
“INEC after the declaration of Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed as the winner usurped the powers of the Election Petition Tribunal and declared the declaration null and void.
“The 1st respondent does not have the requisite powers to declare an election in which the winner has been declared null and void,” she said.
She further submitted that only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not the electoral body.
But Justice Inyang Ekwo on Tuesday declined to hear Binani's application and one Afeez Matonmi who announced an appearance for Governor Fintiri of the PDP on the grounds that he had not been served with court processes on the matter.
Justice Ekwo told the counsel for Binani, Mr. Mohammed Sherif, to first address the court on issues of jurisdiction as Binani is to file her address on whether the court has jurisdiction to entertain the application within three days.