The Kano division of Appeal Court, on Wednesday nullified the nomination of Danburam Nuhu of the Peoples Democratic Party, as the senatorial candidate of the party for Kano Central.
The court then upheld the primaries conducted by the Shehu Sagagi-led executives of the party, which produced Laila Buhari as the candidate.
Recall that on 26th September 2022, a Federal High Court in Kano dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction on the basis that the case was filed in Kano instead of Abuja, contrary to the policy of the National Judicial Council, NJC, on pre-election matters.
However, in a judgement delivered by Justice Ita Mbaba, the appellate court set aside the decision of the trial court, saying it erred in dismissing the case on that premise.
In hearing the substantive case on its merit as it was filed by way of originating summons, the court held that in a pre-election matter, the Federal High Court Rules and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended shall prevail over the NJC policy, which the lower court relied upon.
The court, therefore, ordered INEC to remove Damburam’s name and replace it with Mrs Laila Buhari’s name immediately.