Aisha Dahiru, also known as Binani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Adamawa governorship election, has filed a fresh lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the nullification of her declaration as the governor of Adamawa.
The lawsuit was filed before Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court. In the motion, Binani sued INEC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its candidate, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, as the first, second, and third respondents, respectively. She sought a judicial review of INEC’s decision to reverse her earlier announcement as the winner of the election.
Binani’s counsel argued that the election petition tribunal should have the power to decide her client’s fate, as stated in Section 149 of the Electoral Act, 2022. He further argued that INEC’s decision would deprive Binani of the time allowed under Section 285(6) to have her petition dispensed with by the tribunal. The counsel requested a review of INEC’s action and presented an undertaking to demonstrate that the case was not frivolous.
The court listened to the arguments and stood down for a ruling. It is worth noting that Binani had previously withdrawn a suit before another judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, following Governor Fintiri’s declaration as the winner of the election. However, the court had directed her counsel to address the issue of jurisdiction, and since the counsel failed to comply, the case was dismissed.