Sen Aisha Dahiru Binani, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the March 18 and April 16 Adamawa governorship polls and supplementary election, respectively, on Monday filed a motion exparte before the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking to be declared as the legitimate governor-elect.
In the suit filed by her lawyers, led by Hussaini Zakariyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) she contends that INEC initially declared her the winner of the election but later reversed itself by nullifying the initial declaration, despite knowing well that it had no power to do so because only an election petition tribunal is vested with such powers.
Binani is, therefore, praying for a judicial review of the administrative decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on April 16th in respect of her declaration as the winner of the governorship elections held on March 18 and the supplementary poll of April 15.
She is also 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.
The application was brought pursuant to Order 34 Rules 1a, Order 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 Section 149 & 152 of the Electoral Act 2022.
The Senator stated that after the collation of results, INEC (which she sued as the first respondent), declared her as the winner of the elections but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, who was sued as the 2nd & 3rd respondents, resorted to fighting and causing a public disturbance, which led to the beating and manhandling of an INEC staff.
The crisis, she said, led INEC to cancel the initial declaration which it had no power to do as only the election petition tribunal is vested with such powers.
By cancelling her declaration, Sen Binani contends that INEC usurped the powers of the election petition tribunal, which is the only court vested with powers on a declaration from the conduct of an election.
Sen Binani says a judicial review exists to enable the superior court to checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts, as well as the legislative and administrative arms of government, including agencies and public officers.
According to her, INEC being an agency of government, can have its actions, records, and decisions checked by the court and only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not INEC itself.
