All Progressive Congress (Apc) Vs. Hon Danladi Idris Karfi (2017)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

Chima Centus Nweze, JSC

By their Motion on Notice, filed on February, 2016, Abdullahi Mohammed and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) implored this court for an “order … joining the applicants as the fourth and fifth respondents, respectively, as interested parties in this appeal”

In their “Grounds Upon which the application is based,” they [the applicants] charted the course of their ill-starred forensic pilgrimage from the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, Kano, through the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, to this court, via this application, in the eight paragraphs thus:

1. That the applicants contested the general election into the office of member

representing Kura/Garun Mallam Constituency of the Kano State House of

Assembly held on 11th April, 2015.

2. The applicant (sic) being dissatisfied with the outcome of the election filed an election primaries for the purpose of a Dye election to be conducted by INEC within ninety days;
3. The applicants’ appeal [against the decision of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal] was however heard after the dismissal of the appellants’ appeal and same [that is, the applicants’ appeal against the decision of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal] was dismissed on 10th December, 2015;
4. The res in the applicants’ appeal [against the decision of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal] was destroyed by the Court of Appeal even before the said appeal was heard and determined thereby negatively affected (sic) the applicants’ interest in challenging the election annulled,

[Italics supplied for emphasis]

In, the four paragraph affidavit, in support of the Motion, one Muhammed Kabir, deposed inter alia:

1……

2……

3……

a. That the second applicant [PDP] is a political party duly

registered in Nigeria;

b. That the first applicant was sponsored by the second applicant

to contest the election into the office of member representing