Court Sacks Prominent APC Candidate over Alleged Certificate Forgery
- Muhammad Idris has been sacked as the winner of the APC primary election for the Kazaure constituency in the Jigawa state House of Assembly
- Idris was sacked by the Federal High Court in Dutse over certificate forgery and disenfranchisement of party delegates
- The court ordered Idris to "vacate the seat" for his main rival in the primary election, Bala Hamza
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Dutse, Jigawa state - Ahead of 2023, the Federal High Court in Dutse, Jigawa state, has nullified the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Kazaure constituency in the state House of Assembly.
The court ordered that Muhammad Idris, who was declared the winner of the primary election, should vacate the seat for his main challenger, Bala Hamza, Premium Times reported.
Source: Getty Images
Alleged certificate forgery: Why court sacked Idris
Legit.ng recalls that in the primary election conducted on 26 May, Idris got 29 votes while Hamza scored 24 votes.
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However, Hamza challenged the result in court. He argued that five party delegates from his constituency were “intimidated and disenfranchised” during the primary election.
He also claimed that Idris presented a forged educational certificate to the INEC.
On Thursday, November 17, the trial judge, Hassan Dikko, said the court was convinced that Idris was not validly elected as the party’s candidate.
The court also ruled that it was convinced that Idris forged the certificate he submitted for the primary election.
Also, the court stated that it was satisfied that five of the party delegates were disenfranchised during the primary election and that their votes belonged to Mr Hamza.
With the court ruling, Hamza now has 29 votes to defeat Idris, who was awarded 24 votes.
APC primary: Hamza reacts
Meanwhile, Hamza, who is the sitting member representing the Kazaure constituency in the state house of Assembly, described the judgement as a win-win for the APC.
He called on his opponent to join hands for the success of the APC at the state and federal levels.
Court nullifies APC primary in Nasarawa state, orders fresh election
In a related development, the APC primary election in Nasarawa West senatorial district has been nullified by a Federal High Court in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa state.
The court also ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary for the senatorial district within 14 days.
The judgement was delivered by Justice Nehezina Afolabi, while Labaran Magaji filed the suit to challenge the party and the winner of the primary.
Source: Legit.ng
