Court dismisses PDP’s application against Dambazau

TRACKING___A federal High Court in Kano has struck out the application filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Mohammad Danbazau, representing Takai/Sumaila federal constituency of Kano State, for lack of merit.

Justice Lewis Allagoa, in his judgement yesterday, held that the application filed by the PDP candidate, Siraju Kanawa, seeking to unseat the All Progressives Congress (APC) legislature had already been determined by the apex court.

The lawmaker is son of former minister of interior, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau.

The judge held that the lower court was incompetent to rule on the jurisdiction of the upper court, declaring that the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter superseded any other.

On the motion challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter, Allagoa ruled that the attempt to proceed on the matter would amount to review of the judgements of the appellate and apex courts, which he descried as mere academic exercise.

Kanawa, in his originating summons, sought the court to determine whether a candidate, who did not participate in the process and conduct of the February 23, 2019 National Assembly election should be declared winner of the election, pursuance to Section 285(13) of the constitution.

The plaintiff had also asked the court to declare the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the issuance of certificate of return to Danbazau as null and void. He prayed the court to declare him the rightful winner of the election, having secured the highest lawful votes.

In his counter-affidavit, counsel to INEC, (1st respondent) Hassan Aliyu, had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to sit on a subject matter already determined by both Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, while asking the court to strike out the PDP candidate’s application for lack of merit.

Similarly, in their separate arguments, counsel to Danbazau (3rd respondent), Nuraini Jimoh, and APC (2nd respondent), Abdulafeez Khalid, described the plaintiff’s application as mere academic exercise that would end in futility.

They contended that having ventilated by the appellate and apex courts, the argument of the plaintiff was devoid of potent credence to stand.

The legal battle on the Takai/Sumaila constituency started when former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on the House of Representatives, Abdulrahman Sumaila, won the seat on the platform of APC.

Sumaila, who didn’t take part in the primaries that produced Danbazau as APC candidate, was compensated with the House of Representative seat, having lost Kano South senatorial seat to Kabiru Gaya.

Dissatisfied with the party’s arrangement, Danbazau sought legal solution, which went up to the Supreme Court.

In the end, the apex court ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return from Sumaila and hand it over to Danbazau who was declared the party’s candidate.