You Can Go Home Freely As Supreme Court Dismisses Case Against Niger Gov

The Supreme Court in Abuja on Friday upheld the election of the Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, declaring that the case of the appellant, Mustapha Babangida, lacked merit.
In the case prepared by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, the appellant did not participate in the election neither did he fail even though he is a bona fide member of the All Progressives Congress.

Babangida had asked the apex court to nullify the election of Bello, calling for a fresh election.

While dragging the party before the Federal High Court, Minna, the state capital, he claimed that the APC was biased and that Bello’s emergence as its candidate was null and void.

But ruling on the matter, the apex court said the appellant did not participate in the election, so had no case to argue.

Counsel to the appellant, Mohammed Mohammed, however, called for an amendment of Section 87 of the Electoral Act, which he said denied his client the right to sue.

Addressing journalists after the ruling, Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa, said that Babangida’s argument was baseless because despite being aware that sale of forms for candidates had ended, went ahead to pay the sum of N4m into the party’s bank account.