The Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld a lower court’s ruling, dismissing an appeal seeking to disqualify PDP’s Asue Ighodalo from the upcoming Edo governorship election. The court ruled that non-possession of a voter’s card is not a disqualifying factor and found no proof of alleged forgery. Phillip Shuaibu, who filed the appeal, plans to challenge the judgment.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal aimed at disqualifying Asue Ighodalo, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the upcoming Edo State governorship election, over allegations of owning a forged voter’s card.
The appeal, brought by Phillip Shuaibu and others, challenged the legitimacy of Ighodalo’s candidacy ahead of the off-cycle election scheduled for September 21. The three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Hamma Barka, upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court, which ruled on July 17 that the lack of a voter’s card is not a disqualifying factor for a candidate.
In its ruling, the Appeal Court determined that Shuaibu and his fellow appellants failed to substantiate their claims of forgery against Ighodalo. The court also emphasized that the appeal was filed outside the 14-day period allowed for pre-election matters under Section 285, subsection 9 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The panel unanimously dismissed the appeal and imposed a cost of one million naira each in favor of Asue Ighodalo, the PDP, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Despite the court’s decision, Shuaibu’s legal team has indicated their intention to further appeal the judgment.