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Tribunal Nullifies Orji Uzor Kalu’s Election as Senator, Orders Rerun
The National and State House of Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia has nullified the election of the Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu, for Abia North Senatorial District.
Delivering its judgment on Monday, a member of the three-member tribunal, Justice I.P.C Igwe, said the petitioner, Mao Ohuabunwa, a former senator, successfully proved his allegation of substantial non-compliance with the electoral guidelines.
Mr Ohuabunwa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had approached the tribunal to nullify the election of Mr Kalu, who contested the February 23 2019 election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Kalu is a former governor of Abia State.
The petitioner told the tribunal that Mr Kalu’s declaration as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not comply with the provisions of the 2010 Electoral Act as amended.
He alleged that INEC excluded some votes during the collation of results, adding that the commission also disenfranchised many registered voters in the constituency.
The tribunal said since all the parties agreed that elections were peaceful in the entire senatorial district, INEC failed in its duty to ensure that all the unit results were duly recorded in the relevant ward and local government result sheets.
It frowned at the exclusion of over 30,000 votes from Arochukwu Local Government Area, without giving good reason for its action.
The tribunal held that the excluded figure was much higher than the over 10,000 votes, which was the margin of lead between Mr Kalu and the petitioner.
The panel therefore nullified the election and ordered a supplementary election in the affected areas within 90 days.
In a reaction, counsel for Mr Ohuabunwa, Mike Onyeka, hailed the judgment, saying it had increased his confidence in the judiciary.
“I feel a little more confident in the judiciary because what has been decided is the justice of the matter,” he said.
In a related development, the tribunal upheld the election of Sam Onuigbo for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by the Chairman, Justice Cornelius Akintayo, the tribunal dismissed the petition filed by Martin Apugo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for lack of competence.
Mr Apugo had petitioned the tribunal claiming that Onuigbo, who contested the poll on the platform of PDP was not duly elected.
He contended that Mr Onuigbo did not score the majority of the lawful votes cast and that his election should be annulled, while urging the tribunal to declare him winner instead.
He alleged that election did not hold in some areas, adding that the exercise was marred with irregularities in some parts of the constituency.
Mr Apugo specifically alleged corrupt practices, including mutilation and swapping of results by INEC in favour of Mr Onuigbo.
But the tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove his allegation that the exercise did not hold in some areas with ample evidence.
It further held that the petitioner failed to prove the criminal allegation beyond reasonable doubt and therefore dismissed the petition in its entirety.
He awarded N200,000 as cost to each of the first, second and third respondents.
NAN
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
