Appeal Court sacks David Mark, orders fresh election

FROM ROSE EJEMBI, MAKURDI.

The Appeal court sitting in Makur­di, the Benue State capital yes­terday nullified the election of former senate president, Senator David Mark and ordered the Independent National Electoral Com­mission (INEC) to within 90 days conduct a fresh election in the senatorial district.

Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Peter Ige declared that the election of the former senate president failed to comply with the electoral act, adding that the lower tribunal erred in not scrutinizing the evidence of PW 17 on the issue of collat­ing results a day after Mark had been declared winner of the March 28 election.

“Having failed to comply with the electoral act, I set aside the judgment of the lower tribunal and order that INEC shall within 90 days hold election in the zone.”

Justice Ige who cited vari­ous legal authorities to back up his judgment submitted that the appellant proved his case beyond reasonable doubt, that as at the time the respondent was declared winner of the senatorial elec­tion on March 28, results from seven local govern­ments were still being await­ed.

He posited further that none of the ten witnesses called by the respondent could controvert the argu­ments of the appellant that the result of the election was announced before the colla­tion of all the results espe­cially from the said seven local governments.

“The appellant has shown by oral evidence that colla­tion of results were still on­going in seven local govern­ments as at 29/03/15 when the first respondent was de­clared winner of the election. None of the 10 witnesses could controvert that all col­lated results were done a day after the returning officer declared the first respondent winner of the election.”

The Judge who main­tained that the appellant for­mulated six issues for con­sideration in his appeal said that the first three were in favour of the appellant; four and five in favour of the re­spondent, while sixth was struck out.

Justice Ige, therefore, de­clared that since the results of seven out of nine local governments in the senato­rial district were still being collated as at the time the former senate president was declared winner of the elec­tion, “this court hereby set aside the judgment of the lower tribunal and invalidate the election of Mark.”