For the second time in a month, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected another appeal by Senator Yusuf Aboubakar challenging Senator Emmanuel Bouacha’s candidacy for the governorship of the Progressive Congress, the General People’s Congress, for Taraba state.
The Supreme Court rejected the new appeal based on the withdrawal of the voluntary appellant, Senator Yusuf Abubakar.
In Thursday’s proceedings, the appellant’s counsel, Mr Sarava Yosef, informed the Supreme Court that his client’s case had become an expendable and mere academic exercise in light of the court’s judgment of 1 February 2023 on the same matter.
The lawyer specifically told a five-judge panel of the court, led by Judge John Okoro, that the relief sought in the new case had been granted in the February 1 ruling handed down by Judge Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
Subsequently, he applied to withdraw his client’s case from adjudication.
On the basis of no objection from the other parties to the matter, Judge Okoro dismissed the case accordingly at no cost against the appellant.
The Supreme Court had annulled on February 1 the APC primaries in Taraba State that produced Senator Emmanuel Bouacha as the party’s gubernatorial candidate.
Senator Youssef had appealed the appeals court ruling that overturned a federal court ruling.
Earlier, the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, nullified the APC primaries producing Senator Buasha for the 2023 general elections.
Judge Obiora Igwato, in the ruling, asserted that the submissions submitted by the parties to the legal dispute indicated that the party primaries were invalid because they were conducted in contravention of the provisions of the law.
Aside from overturning the primary, the judge also ordered that new primary elections be held within 14 days of the ruling in line with the dictates of the law.
Not satisfied with Judge Igwato’s ruling, Buacha, the incumbent senator representing Taraba South, appealed the ruling and won a positive ruling as APC gubernatorial candidate for Taraba State in the March 11, 2023 election.
However, the Supreme Court, in affirming the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, Jalingo, overturned the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Yola District, which on November 24, 2022 had reinstated Emmanuel Buacha as APC candidate.
Once again, the Supreme Court rejects the appeal of the APC Taraba governor’s ticket
