Senator Abbo Unseated: Abuja Court Crowns PDP’s Yohanna Winner

The Abuja Court of Appeal has ruled to unseat Senator Elisha Abbo, who currently holds the position of Senator representing Adamawa North. In a judgment delivered on Monday, a three-member panel, with Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme presiding, has instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide Amos Yohanna with a Certificate of Return, officially declaring him as the duly elected representative for the National Assembly in that constituency.

The appellate court has overturned the tribunal’s decision, which previously upheld Elisha Abbo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the victor of the senatorial election. INEC initially declared Abbo as the winner of the parliamentary election that took place on February 25, 2023. However, dissatisfied with INEC’s verdict, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Yohanna filed a case with the tribunal to contest the election’s outcome.

In its verdict, the tribunal rejected Yohanna’s petition, deeming it devoid of merit. Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, the PDP candidate, represented by his counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), took the matter to the Appeal Court.

After a thorough consideration of arguments presented by both parties, the Court of Appeal concurred with Usman’s contention that, in accordance with Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the presented election results evidently indicated non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

Following that, the court subtracted the void votes from the tallies of both parties and determined that Yohanna and the PDP emerged as the victors in the election, having garnered the majority of legitimate votes.

In response to the ruling, Senator Abbo characterized it as an attack on democracy but urged his supporters to remain composed.