The Appeal Court has stroke out the suit filed by Sani Sha’aban against the election of Senator Uba Sani as the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for Kaduna State.
Recall, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court’s ruling on November 4, threw out a suit challenging the primary election that produced Senator Uba Sani, saying that the court lacked the jurisdiction to deliver judgement in the said matter.
Thus, in another suit, the Court of Appeal had earlier on 9/12/2022 refused to grant an application by Hon Sha’aban for an extension of time within which to transmit the record of appeal.
The court had argued that the position of the law is that in election-related litigation, no room for an extension of time for litigants who failed to abide by the provision of the law.
The APC legal team had argued on the matter that having left the party, Sani Sha’aban lacks the locus standi to continue with the suit.
Thus, the court in its ruling said the applicant failed to make use of the time frame as directed by the law and therefore stroke out the suit.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication, Senator Uba Sani’s campaign council, Malam Ibraheem Musa, described the judgement as a sound verdict which is grounded in law and fact, adding that it will deepen the electoral process.
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‘’The APC family is genuinely happy with the Court of Appeal judgement and with this victory, the party is now more focused on the task of winning the 2023 elections at all levels,’’ he said.
‘’The verdict has indeed demonstrated that the judiciary is blind to sentiments and other extraneous considerations. Rather, it is guided by the constitution, electoral act and rules of the court,’’ the statement added.
The Director of Strategic Communication recalled that the Court of Appeal’s verdict on suit CA/k/262/2022 was based on the preliminary objection of the APC legal team, which argued that the Appeal is incompetent because of the failure of Hon Sha’aban to transmit the complete record of Appeal within 10 days after filing the appeal as provided by the law.
The statement commended the legal teams headed by Sunusi Musa SAN for Senator Uba Sani and Suleiman Shuaibu, counsel for the APC, for their steadfastness in defending the mandate of Senator Uba Sani in the courts.
