Election tribunal judgement a misplacement of justice – Katsina PDP

Both the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the Katsina State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal’s recent rulings have been met with dismay by the PDP in Katsina State.

Former 2023 Katsina PDP Campaign Council Chairman and current senator, Umar Ibrahim Sauri, led the party’s harsh condemnation of the “misplacement of justice.”

Senator Sauri urged PDP supporters in Katsina State and across Nigeria to ignore the tribunals’ rulings, claiming that their decisions strayed too far from the norms of justice.

Likening the tribunal’s rulings to those of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he claimed that INEC had misled the Nigerian people.

The Senator was especially concerned with the tribunal’s decisions on the eligibility of Katsina PDP members based on their possession of primary school diplomas.

He contrasted this with the previous verdict on President Tinubu’s credentials, and vowed to use all legal options to challenge what he saw as unfair rulings.

Both Aminu Ahmadu Chindo (PDP, Katsina Central Federal Constituency) and Ismail Dalha (APC, Kankia/Kusada/Ingawa Federal Constituency) had their victories in the House of Representatives overturned by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Katsina, presided over by Hon. Justice O. Ogunfowora.

They were disqualified because they allegedly presented forgeries of their academic credentials.

In addition, Senator Sauri asserted that the Appellate Court Justices, including Justice Tsammani, had pledged to make decisions based on the evidence presented rather than legal technicalities.

But, he said, “these assurances remained unfulfilled, with judgements seemingly swaying towards personal interests.”

The Senator called it a “rape of democracy” and warned that such precedents could not be maintained.

Concerned about the future of democracy in Nigeria, Senator Sauri claimed that the ruling party, INEC, the police, and the courts all look to have undue influence over the current electoral process.

His final words were a prayer for divine intervention: “May Allah deliver Nigeria, Nigerians, and democracy.”