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Court of Appeal Upholds Ireti Kingibe’s Victory as FCT Senator, Dismisses Aduda’s Petition

Published

6 months ago

November 2, 2023

Stella Charles Akupue

Court of Appeal Upholds Ireti Kingibe's Victory as FCT Senator, Dismisses Aduda's Petition

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ruled in favour of Ireti Kingibe, the Labour Party Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), dismissing the petition filed by former Senator Philip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The judgment, delivered via Zoom, deemed Aduda’s appeal lacking merit. This legal victory reinforces Kingibe’s position as the authentic FCT Senator.

In the initial election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer, Prof. Sani Saka, declared Kingibe the winner with 202,175 votes, surpassing Aduda, who secured 100,544 votes.

Despite Aduda’s legal team’s efforts at the National Assembly election petitions tribunal in Abuja, which aimed to annul Kingibe’s victory, the tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking substance and upheld Kingibe’s win.

Unsatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, Aduda’s legal team sought recourse at the Court of Appeal, challenging the tribunal’s judgment.

Kingibe’s legal representatives, however, defended the legitimacy of the earlier ruling, emphasizing the dismissal of Aduda’s petition by the tribunal.

Justice Daniel Kahiru, delivering the judgment for the Court of Appeal, stated that Aduda’s failure to present the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine data and voter register weakened the allegations of irregularities during the election.

The court also found the appellants’ failure to substantiate claims of overvoting. Consequently, the Court of Appeal upheld Kingibe’s victory, resolving all issues against the appellant.