PROTESTS have trailed a Supreme Court ruling upholding Abdullahi Sule’s election as Nasarawa state governor.
Some residents took to the streets of Lafia, the state capital, to convey their dissatisfaction with the ruling shortly after it was delivered on Friday, January 19.
Blocking the Lafia-Jos expressway, the protesters set bonfires, leaving commuters stranded and forcing business owners to be temporarily shut.
Security operatives are, however, present at the scene to restore calm and order.
Following the 2023 governorship elections, which produced Sule as governor, the Election Petition Tribunal in Nasarawa nullified his victory in October.
It declared the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), David Ombugadu, the winner.
Two justices out of the three-member panel that passed the tribunal judgement ruled in favour of Ombugadu, while one dissented.
However, the Court of Appeal overturned the tribunal’s ruling and declared Sule governor.
In its ruling delivered on November 23, 2023, the Court of Appeal said Sule was not given a fair hearing and that oral and documentary evidence presented by Ombugadu and the PDP did not demonstrate over-voting.
The PDP appealed the appellate court’s judgment, which the Supreme Court upheld.
In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court’s panel of justices, led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun on Friday, ruled that the decision upholding Sule’s election was thorough and well thought out.
The court dismissed the PDP’s case for lack of merit and did not award any cost.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.