Dame Pauline K. Tallen & Ors V. David Jonah Jang & Ors (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

CLARA BATA OGUNBIYI, J.C.A (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Plateau State Governorship Election Tribunal, sitting in Jos (coram Hon. Justices Joseph Jella, Olayinka D. Afolabi, Benson Ogbu) delivered on the 31st day of October, 2011, wherein the Tribunal dismissed the Petitioners/Appellants’ petition.

Being dissatisfied with the said judgment, the Appellants have appealed against some before this Court. The background facts leading to the petition would be relevant wherein their petition duly filed on the 19th day of May, 2011, the Petitioners challenged the return of the 1st Respondent as the Governor of Plateau State of the Gubernatorial Election held on the 26th day of April, 2011.

The principal and/or main prayer of the Petitioners, inter alia are:

(a) That votes recorded and/or returned for the 1st – 3rd Respondents in the Local Government Areas, set out in paragraph 15 of the petition, do not represent lawful votes cast in the said Local Government Areas in the Plateau State Governorship election held on 26 April, 2011 as same were vitiated by substantial non-compliance with the mandatory statutory requirements of the Electoral Act 2006 which non-compliance substantially affected the validity of the said election such that the votes credited to the 1st to 3rd Respondents ought to be nullified as unlawful votes and is countenanced in determining the winner of the elections.

(b) That votes recorded and/or returned in the said Local Government Areas and some wards in some Local Government Areas for the 1st Respondent, do not represent lawful votes cast in the said Local Government Areas and stated wards in the plateau State Governorship election held on 26 April, 2011 and as having been obtained in vitiating circumstances of substantial non-compliance, violence and malpractices which substantially affected the validity of those votes;

(c) That the said David Jonah Jang, the 1st Respondent, was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast in the Plateau State Governorship election held on April 26, 2011 and that his election is void:

(d) That Dame Pauline K. Tallen, was duly elected and ought to have been returned having scored the highest number of votes cast in the Plateau State Governorship Election held on April 26, 2011 and having satisfied the requirements of the Section 179 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended.

(e) That the 1st Petitioner be declared validly elected or returned.

In the Petitioners’ alternative prayers, the Petitioners prayed as follows:

(a) That the Plateau State Governorship Election held on April 26, 2011 is void on the ground that the election was not conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended:

(b) That the said election was vitiated by substantial non compliance with the mandatory statutory requirements which substantially affected the validity of the said elections that none of the candidates in f he said election can be validly returned as having validly won the said election;

(c) That the Plateau State Governorship Election held on the 26th of April, 2011 be nullified or cancelled and the 3rd Respondent be directed to conduct fresh elections for the office of the Governor of Plateau State;

(d) Costs of this Petition.