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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
The National/State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Makurdi, has upheld the elections of Deputy Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Mrs Lami Danladi.
The chairman of the panel, Justice Ory’zik Ikeorha, in his judgment on Thursday, said the petitioners, Mrs Agnes Uloko and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) failed to prove their case.
Justice Ikeorha said the petitioners failed to prove their case of certificate forgery and that Mrs Lami Danladi was not a member of the APC before contesting the election.
She said the petitioners case was too weak to establish forgery case against the respondent adding that pleadings alone were not evidence before the court.
The Court held that the evidence before the court “showed physically that the certificate tendered by the respondent looks genuine”.
She said “the reliefs sought are hereby refused, the petition stands dismissed in entirety.
Recall that Mrs Uloko and the PDP had dragged Mrs Danladi, APC and INEC before the tribunal challenging his victory and declaration by INEC.
The petitioners alleged that the respondent does not possess the requisite qualification to contest the March 18, 2023 Ado State Constituency Election and was not a member of the APC as at the time of contesting the election.
The petitioner also prayed the court to disqualify the respondent and declare her the winner of the election on the basis of forgery.
However, the respondent countered the petitioner’s prayers insisting that she possessed the required qualifications to contest the election and tendered relevant documents.
She said the allegations of the petitioners were mere hearsay and challenged them to prove their case.
