Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Bello & Anor V. Hon. Yusuf Ahmed Tijjani Damisa & Ors (2016)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AMIRU SANUSI, J.S.C.

This appeal is against the Ruling of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division (the lower Court), delivered on 11th February, 2016 in which by the said ruling, the lower Court declined jurisdiction to entertain and determine a Motion on Notice filed before it, urging it to set aside its own judgment which it delivered earlier in appeal no: CA/A/EPT/648/2015 which according to the learned appellant’s senior counsel was delivered without jurisdiction. The facts of the case which gave rise to this appeal are simply put as follows: The first and 2nd respondents filed an election petition No. EPT/KG/NASS/HR/06/2015 before the Kogi State National and State Assemblies Election Petition Tribunal (hereafter referred to as “the Tribunal”) in which they challenged the declaration and return of the 1st Appellant as winner of the House of Representatives election as member representing Okene/Ogori-Magogo Federal Constituency of Kogi State. The first respondent was sponsored by his party the PDP (the 2nd Respondent), to contest the said election. The first appellant on the other hand, contested the same

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election on the platform of his party the All Progressive Congress (APC) i.e. the 2nd appellant herein. The Tribunal on 13th October, 2015, delivered its judgment in favour of the two appellants. The respondents thereupon, became disenchanted with the judgment of the Tribunal naturally, hence they jointly appealed to the lower Court. The lower Court heard the appeal and delivered its judgment on 8th of December, 2015 within the 60 days stipulated by Section 285(7) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) in favour of the 1st and 2nd respondent.

Then after the expiration of the sixty days within which the lower Court was allowed to entertain and determine any matter relating to appeal filed before it which it had already delivered judgment and thereby disposing same of, the two appellants herein, filed a Motion on Notice before the lower Court on 26th day of January, 2016 seeking the under listed reliefs:-

(a) AN ORDER enlarging time within which the appellants can apply to set aside the judgment and the consequential order made by this Court on the 8th day of December, 2015 in APPEAL No.CA/A/EPT/648/2015 BETWEEN

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HON. YUSUF AHMED TIJANI DAMISA AND ANOR VS RT. HON. ABDULLAHI BELLO AND ORS same having been made without jurisdiction.

(b) AN ORDER of this Court setting aside the judgment and the consequential orders made by this Court on the 8th of December, 2015 in APPEAL NO. CA/A/EPT/648/2015 BETWEEN HON. YUSUF AHMED TIJANI DAMISA AND ANOR VS RT. HON. ABDULLAHI BELLO AND ORS same having been made without jurisdiction.

Having been served with the motion on notice filed by the appellants, the 1st and 2nd Respondents jointly filed a Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the lower Court to entertain, hear and determine the motion filed by the appellants on the grounds, inter alia, that the said motion was filed by the appellants outside the (60) sixty days stipulated by the Constitution within which the lower Court must dispose of any matter on appeal before it from the decision of election Tribunals. After taking arguments of learned counsel for the parties in the appeal, the lower Court upheld the preliminary objection of the 1st and 2nd respondents and declined jurisdiction to entertain the motion and ultimately dismissed the said motion.

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Still further dissatisfied with the ruling of the lower Court, the appellants further appealed to this Court. The first and second respondents still filed a notice of preliminary objection before this Court also challenging this Court’s jurisdiction to entertain, hear and determine the present appeal. To that effect, the 1st and 2nd Respondents argued their Preliminary Objection in their joint brief of argument.