The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Kaduna dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party Senatorial candidate, Michael Auta, seeking to invalidate the victory of the Kaduna-South Senator, Sunday Marshall Katung.
The three-man justices, in a unanimous judgment, stated that the candidate of the LP failed to provide substantial evidence to prove the case of compliance of electoral act and violence during the February 25 election.
In his petition, Auta alleged that the elections was marred by non-compliance of electoral processes, while elections were not conducted in some parts of Kachia and Kagarko Local Government Areas, seeking the Tribunal to nullify INEC’s proclamation.
One of the three-panel tribunal committee who delivered the judgement, Justice O.O. Oluboyede, who delivered the judgment declared that the petitioner had failed to provide credible evidence to prove his case. He dismissed the petition in its entirety.
One of the lead counsel for the respondent, Zigwai Z. Adamu, said that the petition filed by the Labour Party candidate alleged that elections were not conducted in some certain polling units, but however, the petitioner could not adduced credible evidence as contained in their pleadings.
“The petitioner have tried to make the tribunal to go into fishing festival, to fish evidence that was never tendered for it. The tribunal is a court of justice, not a court of emotions but evidence that is before them they’ll use at the end of the day.
“We thank the tribunal for upholding the victory of the Kaduna-South Senator, Sunday Marshal Katung.
Meanwhile, fielding questions from journalists shortly after the ruling, The minority leader in the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Ali Kalat, commanded the tribunal for affirming the victory of Sunday Marshal Katung.
“Southern Kaduna has been a PDP region, someone cannot come and contest and election and claim victory overnight,” Kalat said.
The PUNCH reports that Katung was returned elected in the National Assembly election conducted by INEC on February 25, 2023.
