By Becky Usman
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the dismissal of Aminu Ahmad Chindo and Ismail Dalha-Kusada, both representing Katsina State in the House of Representatives under the PDP.
In February 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Aminu Ahmad Chindo the winner of the Katsina Central Federal Constituency, defeating his closest opponent, Sani Danlami Aliyu of the APC. However, Aliyu and the APC, dissatisfied with the result, filed a petition against Chindo, accusing him of presenting a forged primary school testimonial. The tribunal, led by Justice Olugboyega Ogunfowora, ruled that presenting a false certificate to INEC is a disqualifying factor, nullifying Chindo’s election and returning Aliyu as the winner. The tribunal also awarded N200,000 in favor of the petitioner.
Chindo appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, which not only upheld the decision but increased the fine. This ruling effectively ended Chindo’s tenure in the House of Representatives.
In a similar vein, the Court of Appeal also removed Ismail Dalha-Kusada, the PDP representative for the Kankia/Kusada/Ingawa Federal Constituency, from his position. INEC had declared Dalha-Kusada the winner in February 2023, but his opponent, Abubakar Yahaya-Kusada of the APC, contested the result, claiming that Dalha-Kusada had presented a forged Primary School Certificate to INEC. The tribunal ruled in favor of Yahaya, ordering INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to him.
The PDP and Dalha-Kusada appealed the decision but faced a similar outcome in the Court of Appeal.
Regarding the frontloading of statements of oaths of subpoenaed witnesses, the Appellate Court clarified that official witnesses cannot be frontloaded and may be summoned by the court at any time. The court also distinguished these cases from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) by noting that the witnesses in these cases were not party members or at the behest of the appellant. Additionally, the Court held that for matters involving certificate forgery, the issuing authority is the best evidence in determining the authenticity of the certificate.