Borno Gov, Zulum Trounces APC Rivals For The Fourth Time

For the fourth time in a row, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, an associate of former Governor Kashim Shettima has defeated a group of political rivals aiming to upend his election at the Court of Appeal, Jos.

The appellants comprising immediate past minister of state for power, works and housing, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, a governorship aspirant in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019, Alhaji Kashim Imam, a former minority leader in the house of representatives, Mohammed Umara Kumalia, a serving director of finance at the federal ministry of agriculture, Idrissa Mamman Gatumba and two others, all of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

They had filed an appeal challenging the October, 2018 governorship primaries in Borno State, won by Zulum under the APC.

‎The appellants had contested the governorship primaries under the APC but lost to Zulum. After the election, they had approached the Federal High Court sitting in Maiduguri asking the court to set aside Zulum’s victory.

They lost a preliminary objection at the federal high court, lost an appeal in Jos, lost a fresh argument on return to the federal high court in Maiduguri before filing another apeal with reference number CA/J/174/2019 which they lost on Friday.

The appeal court in a unanimous judgment, delivered by a Justice U Onyemenam and assisted by Hon Justice MN Oniyangi and BM Ugo, dismissed the appeal against Governor Zulum, the APC and INEC for lack of merit. The court awarded N500,000 as cost against the appellants.

‎In another matter, the same court of appeal has also dismissed an appeal filed by the suspended state women leader of the APC, Hajiya Fati Kakinna Alkali Monguno who had previously lost at the federal high court in Maiduguri in her case against the election of Senator Abubakar Kyari who won the APC primaries for Borno north in October 2018. The court ruled that Mrs. Monguno’s appeal with reference number CA/J/153/2019, lacked merit.

Relatedly, the appeal court also ‎dismissed an appeal filed by a former member of house of Representatives, Abdul Msheliza of the APC who challenged the election of Dr Haruna Mshelia, the house of reps member elect for Hawul, Askira-Uba federal constituency in Borno State. Msheliza had lost his case at the federal high court in Maiduguri before filing an appeal in Jos.

All those who won the cases are associates of former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima.

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