In a decision delivered on Thursday, January 25, 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the election of Ahmed Aliyu as the Governor of Sokoto State, rejecting the appeal of Saidu Umar from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The judgment, presented by Justice Tijani Abubakar on behalf of the apex court panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, affirmed Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s victory in the election.
Saidu Umar and the PDP had sought to overturn the concurrent judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Tribunal, citing malpractices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act as grounds for nullifying Aliyu’s election. Umar requested the court to declare him the authentic winner or declare the election inconclusive and order a re-run in approximately 138 polling units.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu, the APC candidate, was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the March 18 governorship election, securing 453,661 votes against the PDP candidate’s 404,632 votes.
Despite Umar’s dissatisfaction with the outcome, the Sokoto Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Abuja both dismissed his petitions, stating that the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court of Appeal panel unanimously affirmed the tribunal’s verdict, finding no reason to disturb the governor’s victory.
