Jafar Sani Bello V. Abba K. Yusuf & Ors (2019)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MUSA DATTIJO MUHAMMAD, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, hereinafter referred to as the lower Court, delivered on the 15th day of March 2019, affirming the judgment of the Kano State High Court, hereinafter referred to as the trial Court, dated on the 14th January 2019, adjudging suit No: K/458/2018 commenced by the appellant statute barred. The brief facts of the case that brought about the appeal are stated below.

On the 16th day of October 2018, the appellant as plaintiff filed an originating summons contesting the participation of the 1st respondent in the 2nd respondent’s 2018 Gubernatorial primary election in Kano State witnessed by the 3rd respondent. It is appellant’s case that the 1st respondent who did not comply with Section 8(8) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party and paragraph 23(a) and (b) of the Party’s Electoral Guidelines for primary elections in his bid to rejoin the party could not have lawfully participated in the party’s Kano State Gubernatorial primary election. The appellant inter-alia sought the trial

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Court’s declaration that, having come second in the primary election, he be declared the party’s duly elected candidate at the primary election, recognized and substituted as such by the 3rd respondent as 2nd respondent’s candidate in the forthcoming Governorship Election in Kano State.

Appellant’s originating summons is supported by an affidavit and a written address.

The 1st and 2nd respondents, in addition to their counter-affidavit filed in opposing the originating summons, raised a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the trial Court on the ground that the action is statute barred. The trial Court upheld the 1st and 2nd respondents’ preliminary objection and struck out appellant’s suit.

Dissatisfied, the appellant appealed to the lower Court which dismissed the appeal and affirmed the trial Court’s decision.

It is against the concurrent decisions of the two lower Courts that the appellant filed the instant appeal.

At the hearing of the appeal, counsel to the parties on identifying their respective briefs adopted and relied on same as their arguments for and against the appeal. In the appellant’s brief settled by Dr.

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Nasiru A. Aliyu, the following two issues have been formulated as arising for the determination of the appeal:-

“(1) Whether the learned justices of the lower Court were right in holding that 4th October 2018 was the day when the cause of action of the Appellant arose despite his clear depositions in paragraph 15, 15 (a), 15(c) and 15(d) of the 2nd affidavit in support of the originating summons in his judgment.

(2) Whether the learned trial justices of the lower Court were right in disregarding the Supreme (sic) cases on computation of time in pre-election matter, which held time runs from the day of the act which day is not excluded.”