A Federal High Court sitting in Dutse, Jigawa State, has nullified the primary election held by All Progressives Congress (APC), which led to the candidature Mohammed Idris as the party’s standard bearer for Kazaure constituency in the state House of Assembly over forgery.
The judge, Hassan Dikko, on Thursday said the court was convinced that Idris was not validly elected as the party’s candidate, and ordered that he should vacate the seat for his main challenger, Bala Hamza.
Dikko said the court was convinced that Idris had forged the certificate he submitted for the primary election which was held on May 26 where Idris got 29 votes while Hamza polled 24 votes.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, Hamza sought redress in court, arguing that five party delegates from his constituency were “intimidated and disenfranchised” during the primary elections, thereby claiming that Idris had submitted a forged educational certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In his verdict, Dikko stated that “Idris was not duly elected with majority votes cast at the primary election of the APC into the Jigawa State House of Assembly representing the Kazaure constituency conducted on 26 May.
“That the plaintiff, Hamza, is the lawful and bona-fide candidate of the APC for election into the Jigawa House of Assembly representing the Kazaure constituency of Jigawa state,” the judge said.
