Tribunal throws out Binani’s petition against Fintiri in Adamawa

The Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Yola, Adamawa State, on Saturday, threw out the petition filed against Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

The petition was filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), governorship candidate  Aishatu Dahiru Binani, and her party after challenging the election of Governor Fintiri of the PDP.

Delivering judgment, the Chairman of the 3-member panel, Theodora Obi Uloho, said that petitioners woefully failed to establish their allegations of non-compliance with the electoral act and prove their case with compelling, credible, and satisfactory evidence.

According to her, all documents tendered by the petitioners were dumped on the tribunal, and their star witness did not demonstrate any of the documents to link them with any of their material allegations in the petition.

She said that the court is an adjudicator and not an investigator, adding that all the witnesses of the petitioners came with documentary hearings but failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.

On the declaration of Binani as the poll winner by the suspended REC, Barr. Hudu Ari Yunusa, Uloho declared that the declaration by Hudu is null and void and that the former REC acted recklessly because it is not his function to collate, announce, and declare the winner of the election.

it would be recalled that on April 18, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Umaru Fintiri the winner after a supplementary election.

In the rerun, Fintiri polled 9,337 votes, beating Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 6,513 votes.

At the end of the entire exercise, Fintiri polled 430,861 votes, defeating Binani, who got 398,788 votes.