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Bodejo, who is facing terrorism charges, accused the governor of pressurising him to form the militia group.

The Miyetti Allah leader was arrested by operatives of the Defence Intelligence Agency on January 23, 2024, at the group’s office in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State for allegedly unveiling a militia group and has been in custody since then.

He was arraigned before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on three counts of terrorism on March 22, 2024.

Bodejo was specifically accused of establishing the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya ethnic militia in Nasarawa State without authorisation.

The offence was said to be punishable under Section 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

However, in his confessional statement, Bodejo alleged that the Nasarawa State governor was behind the formation of the militia group.

He stated that he received a call from the governor earlier in the year expressing his desire to establish a vigilante group different from those of his counterparts.

Bodejo said, “I was arrested because of the vigilantes I paraded in Nasarawa State. Sometime in early January 2024, Governor Sule called me and said that he wanted me to see him concerning a Fulani group called Kungiya Zaman Lafiya, which I told him I didn’t know about. The governor said what he called me for was because all the governors had agreed to form vigilante groups in their states like Katsina State had done, but he did not want to organise his like other state governors.

“He said he wanted to use all those who participated in the political rally before the election. And he intended to link them with the Army, and they would work for him as vigilantes. The governor asked if I could work with Akajo, the leader of the group, and I told him that I couldn’t come down to work with Akajo because I am from the national level. Later, I called Akajo to meet me, and we discussed how to operate the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya in the state. I told the Emir of Lafia that people complained about the group, and I didn’t like them.

“However, I asked Akajo about the number of his men. He said there were about 700 men. I demanded their ID cards, which he showed me; the ID cards were authorised and signed by the CSO for the Nasarawa State governor. About two weeks later, Governor A. A. Sule called me to come with Akajo.”

Bodejo stated that he met with Akajo and Sule at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.

He said that despite informing the governor of the negative narratives about Akajo’s group, he insisted that he (Bodejo) worked with him.

Bodejo said, “So, I left Bauchi and sent for Akajo to meet me at the Governor’s Lodge. When I got to the lodge, I met Akajo with the governor. The governor inquired about what was happening between me and Akajo. I told him that Akajo and his group were spoiling the good name of the governor by causing crises, stealing cattle, and killing people.

“They went and cleared the Toto LGA problem. When they got there, they gathered Fulani and harassed them. The Fulani ran away, leaving the cattle. Akajo and his group gathered the cattle and sold them. The governor insisted that I should work with him.”

The Miyetti Allah leader claimed that other people from the Nasarawa, Obi, and Kyana local government areas of the state who were meant to join Akajo’s group pulled out because Akajo failed to give them their share of the fund released by the governor.

He said, “I told the governor that I requested the group’s list from Akajo so that I could join it with my people to make up the 2,000 and that he had not given me. The governor said we should have a meeting in Lafia. During the meeting, I told the Ardos what the governor wanted to do with the Kuniya Zaman Lafiya, and they bought the idea. During the meeting, one member of the Kunya Zaman Lafiya complained that they were not benefiting from anything. I immediately called the governor to inform him.

“The governor affirmed that all funds were released to Akajo for the group, so it was Akajo who failed to settle them. On this revelation, the people were angered, and the people from Nasarawa, Obi, and Kyana LGAs said they could not join Akajo’s group. The governor instructed that I should make do with the existing 700 members of the Akajo group, and if possible, I should make it up to 1,000.”

Bodejo added that after the meeting, he met with one of his friends, Captain Ahmed Chiroma (retd.), who advised him to make the establishment of the group legal.

According to him, Chiroma made a write-up, which they both presented to the governor.

Bodejo claimed that when the governor was presented with the write-up, he rejected it.

He said, “After the meeting, I met one of my friends, Captain Ahmed Chiroma (retd.), who is the deputy secretary of the Presidential Think Tank, and explained everything to him. Captain advised that I make it legal; he said he would write a write-up for the governor, which he did, and the two of us went to present it to the governor. I don’t know what he wrote, but after the governor read the paper, he said no, saying that he wanted to run the state the way he wanted.”

Bodejo said the governor then instructed him to meet with the Secretary of State Government to discuss the cost of procuring kits for 1,000 members of the group.

The Miyetti Allah leader said Chiroma advised him to be careful as the establishment of the group was illegal.

He added, “The governor said I should meet the SSG and tell him the cost of procuring 1,000 uniforms and kits. Chiroma advised me to be careful with the governor because what he was doing was illegal. That is number one; the governor can’t just carry one tribe of Fulani as vigilantes, and secondly, he can’t carry one as security. He did not build schools for them, just this security vigilante group.”

Bodejo said the governor called him the following day to inquire about the arrangements put in place for the establishment of the group, adding he pleaded with Sule to give him two weeks.

Not knowing what to do, Bodejo said he contacted Chiroma who advised him to establish a nomad vigilante group and register it with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

He stated, “The following day, I was on my way to Bauchi and the governor called me. So I stopped to see him in Lafia and he inquired about the arrangements. I told him to give us two weeks. I informed Akajo and sent a text message to Captain Chiroma, who agreed that we should meet in Bauchi. While in Bauchi, Chiroma advised that I should inform the governor that we would not use the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya, rather we would use Miyetti Allah and register it as a nomadic vigilante group.

“The governor said he had released funds for the uniform and that I should contact the SSG, and when I contacted him (SSG), he directed me to the state Deputy Commissioner of Police. He gave me N14,500,000, but I learned that the governor gave N15,000,000. I informed Captain Chiroma about the money and he advised that we should quickly register the nomadic vigilante group with the CAC to give us cover. We registered the group and were issued a certificate.”

Bodejo stated that, after registering the group, he got the uniforms and presented them to the governor.

The Miyetti Allah leader said the governor was very angry and asked him to put Kungiya Zaman Lafiya on the badges of the uniforms.

He said, “We sewed the uniforms and put badges that showed the Nomadic Vigilante Group of Nigeria. When we took the sample to the governor, he asked us who told us that what he wanted was Kungiya Zaman Lafiya. He said I should remove the badges of the Nomadic Vigilante Group from the uniform and put Kungiya Zaman Lafiya. The governor was very angry with me, and I left.”

He alleged that the governor directed him to come with the Commissioner of Police and Director of the Department of State Services to his office.

Although he noted that the meeting ended before he got to the governor’s office, Bodejo said Sule directed him to parade the group on January 17, 2024.

He added, “On January 12, 2024, the governor called me, and I told him I was in Bauchi. He said I should come with the state Commissioner of Police and the Director of the DSS. However, before I could arrive from Bauchi, they had finished the meeting. I met the governor after the Jummat prayer, and he said I should meet him in his office. He said he had directed that we should parade the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya with the uniform on January 17, 2024. He told me that he met the Commissioner of Police and the DSS Director.”

Bodejo said he met with the CP, who was in support of the governor’s directive, but the DSS director advised him to apply wisdom.

He said, “I met the Commissioner of Police and asked him if he supported the governor’s idea, and he said yes. When I met the Director of DSS, he said we all knew that what the governor was doing was wrong but that he was the governor; that if I said I couldn’t do it, he might tag me as an enemy of the state and sponsor bandits. He advised me that I should be wise about it.”

The Miyetti Allah leader said he was given N7.5m out of the N15m released by the governor to convey members of the group and to book the hall for the unveiling.

He said, “The Deputy Commissioner of Police gave me N7,500,000 out of the N15,000,000 released by the governor for the transportation of the group members to Lafia and payment for the hall in Lafia.”

Bodejo said on the day of the unveiling, the governor, his SSG, and other officials were absent.

He stated, “On January 17, 2024, we assembled all the members in the hall in Lafia. On getting to the venue, I did not see the governor and the SSG. I called the governor and he told me he was in Abuja because the judgment on his case would come up on January 18, 2024, at the Supreme Court and that I should continue. I asked about the SSG or any governor’s representative. He gave different excuses for their absence. Then I sensed trouble.”

He said that after the exercise, he realised that the governor planned to remove him from the equation to have full control of the group to “perform nefarious activities against the Fulani.”

Bodejo said, “The governor directed that I should march the group to the office of the Commissioner of Police after the ceremony. I did exactly that. However, it dawned on me after the whole exercise that the governor’s agenda was to extricate me from the state so that he could have his way and use the group to his advantage.

“I know that I am the only person who can stop the group from performing some nefarious activities against the Fulani. So now that I am arrested, his purpose has been accomplished because he knows that I never liked the group before he tactically involved me and backed out during the launch.”

Gov’s aide reacts

When contacted, an aide to the governor denied Sule’s involvement in the establishment of the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya.

Speaking on the matter on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Affairs, Peter Ahemba, urged members of the public to disregard any rumour linking his principal with the establishment of the militia as there was no iota of truth in it.

He said, “The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has no hand in the establishment of the Nomad Vigilante Group of Nigeria.

“The governor cannot authorise such an establishment when it has not been backed by the laws of the land.

“Governor Sule, being a man who believes in the rule of law, could not have just authorised or encouraged anyone to operate an illegal vigilante group.

“I am urging members of the public to disregard such misinformation and rumour because there is no truth in it. So, nobody or group of persons should drag him into a matter that he knows nothing about.”

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The state government had initiated the distribution of palliatives to students across the state.

“What we are hearing now is that two female students have died. They were said to have been suffocated because of the crowd and they were later declared dead by the healthcare workers,” the source told our correspondent.

However, on Friday, at the NSUK convocation square – the venue for the distribution, two female students were reported dead due to suffocation in the crowd and some others were left with varying degrees of injuries.

The governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Addra, expressed sadness over the deaths of the students.

He said, “ I pray their souls rest in peace. Our thoughts and condolences go to their families and friends at this moment of grief. These young people’s lives cut short at their prime under such circumstances is painful.

”The governor has since directed the authorities of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi and security agencies to commence an immediate investigation into the unfortunate occurrence to unveil those behind it.”

The state deputy governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, also visited those who sustained injuries.

”Engr. Sule had come up with the widely applauded initiative to distribute rice and N5,000 cash each to students in all tertiary institutions in the state,

”Such distribution was a huge success and peacefully carried out by Federal University, Lafia, Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia, College of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Lafia, the School of Nursing, Lafia as well as the College of Education, Akwanga.

”Others are the Federal Polytechnic, Nassarawa and the College of Health Technology, Keffi,” the statement added.

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Sule spoke on Monday when Obi visited him in Lafia, the state capital.

The governor maintained that the elections were over, adding that the president alone cannot address the challenges confronting the nation.

He said Tinubu needed all the necessary support, adding that well-meaning citizens like Obi can contribute to bringing the country back on track.

“I know you have the experience, competence, and capacity to support the president in the overall interest of the country,” Sule said.

“The president is your friend and colleague, we were all in Lagos at some point, and as such, you need to contribute your quota to the development of the country.”

The governor praised Obi for drilling boreholes in some communities in the state, noting that the gesture complemented the government’s efforts to alleviate people’s suffering.

Speaking earlier, Obi said the visit was part of his nationwide tour to provide support to Nigerians during Ramadan.

“I am not desperate to be president of this country, but I am desperate to see Nigeria work for the good of all,” he said.

“I always commend people when they do well because politics to me is not about being negative every time.”

Obi commended Sule for constructing new roads in the state, which he said gave it a new appearance.

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Governor Sule advised his opponent, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), David Umbugadu to wait for his turn since age is still on his side.

The governor stated this Friday while speaking on his victory at the Supreme Court during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

The Supreme Court affirmed the re-election of Governor Abdullahi Sule on Friday, dismissing the petition filed by David Umbugadu of the PDP for lacking merit, though the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on October 2, 2023, declared Umbugadu the rightful winner of the 2023 Governorship Election.

According to him, “I came in only to be a governor; I did not come in to be a chairman, a senator, or a member of the House of Representatives. I don’t have any dreams for those offices.

“I have no dream of becoming even president; I have no dreams for that. I can tell you categorically that Abdullahi Sule would not go to the Senate after leaving office. By the time I finish my eight years, I can do whatever I want to do.”

He explained that he knew he was going to win his case at the Supreme Court: “I was expecting to win, the reason being that, first at the tribunal, we have three judges; they disagreed with themselves; they couldn’t agree; two of them voted against us, therefore we lost.

“One of them had a very comprehensive report; he voted for us and said we won; so we picked it up from there, went to the Appeal Court, where there were more experienced senior judges, and all three of them unanimously said we won.”

Following the Supreme Court pronouncement, a massive crowd yesterday joyfully welcomed the state back.

The massive crowd of supporters, spanning several kilometres, thronged Gudi, the home town of the governor in Akwanga local government, to celebrate the victory of their son.

Expressing gratitude at his home town, Governor Sule thanked Nasarawa citizens and supporters for their unwavering support during the litigation, which lasted up to 10 months.

Governor Sule commended the justices for upholding justice and restoring hope to the people, emphasising his commitment to addressing key issues such as insecurity, poverty, illiteracy, healthcare, and education.

The Governor expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for respecting the independence of the political and judicial processes, acknowledging him as a strong leader on the global stage.

Describing Friday, January 19th, as a historic day where the Supreme Court of Nigeria confirmed and affirmed him as the Governor of Nasarawa State, Governor Sule said: “Today brings to conclusion the long-running 10-month exercise of our election, the tribunal, the Appeal Court, and finally the Supreme Court. I want to use this opportunity to show great appreciation to the judiciary for confirming us, just like we were declared by the INEC.

“I also want to take special opportunity to thank the opposition and appreciate them for testing the principles of democracy.

“I want to specifically thank the good people of Nasarawa State for the tolerance, the patience that they have gone through; it was a very trying moment for most people in order for us to get there. Let me take the opportunity to appreciate our members, the APC for their patience; so today both the victors and those who did not win at the Supreme Court have become one.”

In a related development, the Special Adviser on Politics to Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Dr. Kassim Mohammed, has warned against distorting information targeted at portraying the image of Nasarawa State in bad light.

According to Mohammed, the era of politics and court cases are over and individuals who have previously recruited and used by opposition parties to carry out campaign of calumny against the person of Governor Sule should stop forthwith.

He described as false the alarm being raised by some sections of the media that portrayed the state as being engulfed in a crisis, following the Supreme Court judgement.

“The yesterday protest by desperate Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters in front of their secretariat, where they burned some tires, should not be misconstrued for state-wide crisis over the court judgment.

“Reporters are warned against spreading fake news that could tarnish the state’s image and incite unjust violence.

“Reporters must verify information before distorting reality, as the new face of government will not tolerate such actions,” he warned.

The post Supreme Court: I’m done contesting elections, says Sule appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

A similar appeal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in respect of Delta State was also thrown out by the apex court.

It upheld the election of Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi) and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta)

But the decision of the court did not go down well with some PDP supporters in Nasarawa State, who took to the streets in the capital, Lafia, burning tyres.

The Supreme Court, in deciding the 14 appeals filed in relation to the governorship election disputes in the six states, held that the appellants failed to establish their claims.

Two appeals were filed in relation to Ogun State. The first, marked  SC/CV/1221/2023 instituted  by the candidate of the PDP, Oladipupo Adebutu and the second, a cross appeal, marked  SC/CV/1222/2023 filed by Governor Abiodun

Three appeals were filed  against Oborevwori. The first was by the candidate of the APC, Ovie Omo-Agege marked: SC/CV/1203/2023; second by Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), marked: SC/CV/1202/2023, third by Kennedy Pela of the Labour Party (LP), marked: SC/CV/ 1204/2023.

Four appeals were filed in respect of Nasarawa by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Emmanuel David Ombugadu.

The appeals were marked: SC/CV/1213/2023; SC/CV/1214/2023; SC/CV/1215/2023, and SC/CV/1216/2023.

For Gombe, one appeal, marked SC/CV/1226/2023 was filed by the candidate of the PDP, Jibrin Mahammed Barde.

In relation to Kebbi State, three appeals were filed. The first, marked SC/CV/1228/2023 by the candidate of the PDP, Bande Aminu, the second was marked SC/CV/1228A/2023 by Governor Idris; and the third was marked   SC/CV/1228B/2023 filed by the Deputy Governor, Abubakar Umar Argungu.

For Kaduna, one was filed by the candidate of the PDP, Mohammed Ashiru Isa, marked  SC/CV/1240/2023.

Justice Tijjani Abubakar authored and read the lead judgment on the appeal by Adebutu.

Justice Abubakar first upheld the notice of preliminary objection filed by INEC and struck out issue four formulated by the appellants—Adebutu and the PDP – on the grounds that it was incompetent.

The judge said that, having analysed the other issues raised by the appellants and their supporting arguments, he found that there was nothing substantial to sustain the appeal.

Justice Abubakar held that Adebutu and his party failed to prove their case.

He resolved all the issues raised for determination against the appellants, held that the appeal was unmeritorious, and proceeded to dismiss it.

Justice Abubakar affirmed the majority decision of the Court of Appeal, delivered on November 24, 2023, which upheld Abiodun’s election.

He said, as agreed by lawyers to parties, the judgment in the appeal by Adebutu shall apply to the cross-appeal by Abiodun.

Justice John Okoro, who read the lead judgment on the appeal by Omo-Agege and his party, held that the appellants were unable to prove that the election was invalid by non-compliance.

Justice Okoro found that even if the over 300 ballots disputed by the appellants were deducted from the majority votes scored by Oborevwori, the margin of deference would not be substantially affected.

Justice Okoro held that the appellants failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law.

He proceeded to dismiss the appeal and upheld the concurrent judgments of the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

On the appeal by Gbagi, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba held that the SDP flag bearer and his party failed to prove their claim that the election was conducted without substantial compliance with the relevant laws and that Oborevwori was not qualified to contest the last governorship election in Delta State.

Justice Garba resolved all the issues raised for determination against the appellants and held that the appeal was without merit.

On the appeal by Pela, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji wondered why the appellants, who scored only 48,047 votes, wanted the court to disqualify all the other candidates in the election for them to be declared the winners.

Justice Abba-Aji resolved all six issues identified for determination against the appellants and declared the appeal unmeritorious.

She held that the appellants failed to prove their case as required and proceeded to dismiss it for lacking in merit

On the appeals by Ombugadu and the PDP, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who read the lead judgment, found that the appellants failed to establish their claims with credible evidence.

Justice Kekere-Ekun said the decision of the Court of Appeal, affirming Sule’s election, was unassailable and could not be faulted.

She held that the appeals lacked merit and proceeded to dismiss them.

It was only one of the appeals that the court heard. It said its ruling on that one applied to the ones not heard.

In upholding the Gombe Governor’s election, Justice Kekere-Ekun, in the lead judgment, declared that the appellants failed to show that the concurrent findings of the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal were perverse.

She further held that there was no merit in the appeal by Barde and dismissed it.

Justice Abba-Aji, in her lead judgment on the Kebbi case, dismissed the appeal by Bande Aminu, who was the candidate of the PDP in the last governorship election in the state.

She found the appellants failed to prove their case and proceeded to hold that the appeal was without merit.

Justice Abubakar, who authored and read the lead judgment in the Kaduna PDP appeal, held that the appeal by the party and its candidate was without merit.

The judge found that the appellants, as petitioners before the election tribunal, failed to comply with the provision of Paragraph 18(1) and (3) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 in relation to the filing of pre-hearing notice at the tribunal.

This, the court said, made the tribunal hold that their petition was abandoned.

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The governor said that the Supreme Court is the ultimate and final count, adding that those who appreciate democracy should take the apex court’s verdict in good faith.

This is as Governor Sule, alongside the immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Tanko Almakura, have paid a ‘thank you’ visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the Supreme Court affirmed his victory.

Asked what his reaction was to the protest in his state over the Supreme Court judgement, Sule said:

“Nasarawa is a state where we had over 600,000 votes and we won with over 340,000 votes, so you will know that over 200,000 people did not vote for us. So if out of these 200,000 people who did not vote for us and other sets of 1,000 people are protesting somewhere, then you will know because it’s a day that not everybody will be happy.

“In every state where the Supreme Court passed judgement in every one of these states, you will find some people happy and some other people not happy.

“But I think people who understand what democracy is all about will understand that the Supreme Court is the ultimate and is the final, and those who appreciate or respect democracy should leave it right there because protests or no protest will not change anything; the Supreme Court has already passed its judgement.

“So in our case, when we lost at the tribunal, we told everybody that nobody should protest, and that’s why nobody protested, but that is the level of maturity that you will see from one political party or the other.

“We are a very mature political party; we’re the ruling party in the country; we’re the ruling party in the state; and we’re showing a good example, so that’s why we will not protest.”

Also asked to react to the apex court judgement that affirmed his victory, the governor commended President Tinubu for allowing the judiciary to do its work without any interference.

He said, “In line with all the judgements that have been going on in the country, I think first and foremost, we must continue to thank Almighty God for giving us good health and the opportunity to see the kind of democracy we are seeing.

“We must thank Mr. President, and that’s what brought us here to the villa. We thank him for the kind of role he continues to play in all of these by ensuring that fairness is done without undue interference, allowing the justice system to work the way it’s supposed to.

“So we must express our appreciation to him for doing all that for the good people of Nigeria.”

Governor Sule also thanked the five-member justices who delivered judgment in his case without any dissent from any of them.

According to him, “As far as we are concerned in Nasarawa State, we have won at the court of appeals, unanimously. We also won today with the five justices being led by a panel of highly respected Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun (JSC). So we have to thank Almighty Allah that we also had all five justices in support of us, and that’s why we came.

“All the issues, as far as elections are concerned, are over today. We call on our opponents, without any grudge whatsoever, to come and join us so we can build our state. Nasarawa State is next to Abuja.

Nasarawa State is today in the North-Central, the only state that has commercial quantity discovery of oil.

“It is the only state, so far, that is building mineral processing plants. We already have one of the lithium factories almost finished, and as you know, it is also a state that we are very lucky to have agriculture that is flourishing.

“In fact, on my right hand is the biggest local farmer that we have in the state, and he’s rushing to go back for his harvest because he’s started harvesting.”

The post Protests over Supreme Court judgement won’t change anything — Gov Sule appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, dismissing Ombugadu’s appeal.

Some hours later, the Lafia-Jos Road was completely blocked, and bonfires were made in front of the state’s PDP secretariat to protest against the apex court’s verdict.

However, in a statement he signed and made available to journalists in Abuja on Friday, Ombugadu noted that the court’s decision didn’t match his and his supporters’ expectations but encouraged them to recall shared values and commitment to the state’s development.

He, however, appreciated his supporters for standing by him during and after the election.

The statement read, “Let me express my heartfelt appreciation to my teeming supporters and the people of Nasarawa State for your unwavering support during the 2023 governorship election and throughout the legal journey that just ended at the Supreme Court.

“While the outcome may not have been what we had hoped for, the strength and dedication you and countless others displayed during this period have not gone unnoticed. Your commitment to the principles of democracy, justice, and the ideals we hold dear has been truly inspiring.

“Though the court’s verdict did not align with our expectations, let us remember that our shared values and dedication to the betterment of Nasarawa State remain steadfast. I am grateful for the trust and belief you have placed in me throughout this journey. Your support has been a source of strength, and I am honoured to have had such dedicated supporters by my side.

“As we navigate the path forward, let us continue to uphold the unity and resilience that define our state and country in general. Together, we can contribute to the progress and development of Nasarawa State, irrespective of the challenges we may face.

“Once again, thank you for your unwavering support. It is the collective efforts of individuals like you that truly make a difference. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you, and I look forward to our continued collaboration towards a brighter future for Nasarawa State.”

The post Be calm, Nasarawa PDP governorship candidate tells supporters appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, David Ombugadu, had dragged Sule of the All Progressives Congress to court, challenging his 2023 election victory.

The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sacked the governor on October 2 and declared Ombugadu the winner of the poll.

Unsatisfied with the judgment, Sule approached the Appeal  where he was declared the actual winner of the election.

This prompted Ombugadu to approach the Supreme Court for the final verdict on the matter.

Speaking on the development on Friday, the state police Public Relations Officer  DSP Ramhan Nansel, said apart from the 38 suspects arrested by the command, 29 motorcycles were recovered by its personnel during the protests that took place in Lafia, the state capital.

He further explained that the protesters were arrested because they violated a peace agreement recently reached by stakeholders of the APC and PDP in the state ahead of the Supreme Court judgment.

Nansel said, “The command has apprehended 38 suspects in connection with the protests, and we have recovered 29 motorcycles.

“After the Supreme Court judgment, the protesters were aggrieved, and they blocked the roads, burning tyres, thereby obstructing vehicular movements and disrupting business activities. That was why they were arrested.

“A total of 30 females and eight males were arrested. 29 motorcycles were also recovered. The suspects were immediately taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Lafia where an investigation was carried out, and they were charged in court for prosecution.

“The court has remanded them in prison custody pending their bail determination on Monday.”

While urging all residents of the state to go about their business without any fear, the PPRO assured them that the command is working in synergy with other sister security agencies to ensure that the entire 13 local government areas of the state remain peaceful.

Meanwhile, an investigation by our correspondent indicates that the 38 suspected protesters were charged before the Chief Magistrates’ Court III, Lafia by the state police command.

When the matter was mentioned for hearing by the prosecuting counsel, Danjuma Allu, the Chief Magistrate, Mohammed  Lanze, reserved his ruling for Monday, January 22, 2024.

However, the defendant’s counsel, Iliya Ashokpa, pleaded with the court to grant his clients bail, but it was not granted.

The post Court remands 30 women protesting Supreme Court judgment in Nasarawa appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, dismissed the appeal filed by David Umbugadu of the People’s Democratic Party, challenging Sule’s victory.

In the judgement, Kekere-Ekun said, “The issues in this appeal are resolved against the appellant. The appeal lacks merit, and it is hereby dismissed.”

She said the Court of Appeal in Abuja was right to have “set aside the decision of the tribunal,” which had declared Umbugadu the winner of the poll. “The appeal is frivolous, vexatious, and lacking in merit. It is hereby dismissed,” Tijjani Abubakar, a member of the Supreme Court panel, said while contributing to the lead decision.

Background

The Court of Appeal had, on November 23, overturned the decision of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which sat in Lafia, the state capital.

In its ruling, the appellate court said the tribunal was wrong to have concluded that Governor Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not win the majority of lawful votes cast at the polls.

In the lead decision handed down by Uchechukwu Onuemenam, the appellate court held that the record before it established that the tribunal relied on legally inadmissible evidence to declare the candidate of the PDP, Ombugadu, as the winner of the governorship election.

According to the appellate court, the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the witnesses that were produced by the PDP candidate, whose witness statements on oath were not front-loaded alongside the petition.

It explained that under Section 285(5) of the Nigerian constitution, Section 132(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and paragraphs 4(5) (6) and 14(2) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, every written statement on oath must be filed alongside the petition within the statutorily allocated time.

The appellate court struck out all the evidence and exhibits that were tendered before the tribunal by the eight witnesses.

It held that the evidence of the 12 remaining witnesses who testified for Ombugadu was not sufficient to sustain the judgement of the tribunal.

In addition, the Court of Appeal held that the tribunal was in error when it deducted a total of 1,868 votes that were ascribed to Governor Sule because of alleged over-voting in four polling units.

It held that the tribunal was wrong in its decision since the petitioners did not provide the necessary documents needed to prove over-voting.

Also, it held that the tribunal acted wrongly when it recomputed votes and made the declaration that returned the PDP candidate as the winner of the election.

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