By Chiangi Avese, Makurdi
The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Makurdi today struck out the Petition filed by Hon. Emmanuel Ukaa challenging the victory of Arc. Asema Achado as House of Representatives member, Gwer East/ Gwer West Federal Constituency.
The Tribunal in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Amina Adamu on behalf of a three-member panel of Justices of the Tribunal held that the petitioner Hon. Emmanuel Ukaa failed to provide any shred of cogent and compelling evidence to ground the alleged offenses against the second Respondent, Arc. Asema Achado.
The said, “section 65 of the Nigerian Constitution provides for the nature of the certificate required for contesting election into the National Assembly and that, Form EC9 relied upon by the Petitioner Hon. Emmanuel Ukaa in evidence was misconstrued as a certificate”.
The Tribunal further held that, “the second Respondent, Asema Achado’s evidence and academic certificates tendered were not challenged by the petitioner Hon. Emmanuel Ukaa whose evidence was porous, contradictory, battered under cross-examination, lacked iota of substance and grossly fell short of establishing any single element required by law to prove allegations of forgery in an election Petition”.
The tribunal, therefore, struck out the case of the petitioner, Hon. Emmanuel Ukaa as lacking in merit, unsubstantiated in law, vague, baseless, and affirmed the victory of Hon. Arc. Asema Achado.
The Tribunal accordingly slammed the cost of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira against Hon.Emmanuel Ukaa in favour of each of the three Respondents, INEC, Asema Achado, and APC for the frivolous Petition.
