Senator Sunday Marshall Katung has had his victory in the Kaduna South senatorial election reaffirmed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The three-member panel, led by Justice Moore A. A. Adumein, upheld the verdict of the National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Kaduna.
Michael Ayuba Auta, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), filed a petition which was dismissed by the tribunal for lacking merit. The Court of Appeal endorsed this decision, affirming Senator Sunday Marshall Katung’s triumph on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Even a cursory reading of the judgment indicates that the tribunal was meticulous and comprehensive in its ruling,” remarked Justice Adumein.
He further emphasized the tribunal’s correctness in concluding that Michael Ayuba Auta failed to substantiate allegations of corrupt practices that would have invalidated the election.
The court ruled that Michael Ayuba Auta could not provide evidence to support the criminal accusation of unlawful vote allocation in the February 25th election. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and a fine of N600,000 was imposed on Michael Ayuba Auta in favor of Senator Sunday Marshall Katung, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the PDP.
