The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal (NAEPT) in Niger State has confirmed the election of Murtala Badaru Suleja from the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the representative for Suleja Constituency in the March 18, 2023 State House of Assembly elections.
Nasiru Alhassan, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had filed a petition with the tribunal, citing three grounds for contestation. He alleged that the second respondent in the petition was ineligible to run in the election, as he was not duly nominated by the third respondent. Additionally, Alhassan claimed that the second respondent was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast. He further argued that the election did not comply with the provisions of the Election Act 2022 and Section 104 of the Evidence Act. Alhassan urged the tribunal to nullify the election and declare him the rightful winner.
In delivering the tribunal’s verdict, the presiding chairman, Justice Angela Otaluka, stated that the petitioner failed to substantiate the allegations raised in the petition. The tribunal found that the evidence, witnesses, and exhibits presented by the petitioner could not be confirmed.
After thoroughly reviewing the evidence submitted by both counsels, the three members of the tribunal unanimously agreed that the petitioner had failed to prove his claims. Consequently, Justice Angela Otaluka dismissed the petition on the grounds of lacking merit and awarded a cost of N300,000 against the petitioner.
In an interview following the ruling, Murtala Badaru, the defendant, described the outcome as a victory for democracy and the people of Suleja Constituency in the state.
