Expressing dismay, the appellate court rebuked INEC for acting in favor of a political party during an election dispute, emphasizing that the Commission, meant to be an impartial umpire, had taken a partisan stance by disowning documents it had not only issued but also duly certified.

It decried that the electoral body has continued to “dance naked in the market,” even though it was meant to assume a neutral stand in election litigations.

The court asserted, “The INEC as an institution should be reminded of its role in an election; to be an unbiased umpire between parties.

“It should stop behaving irresponsibly, having in mind that its duty to conduct election has a direct bearing on peace and well-being of the country.

“The role of INEC in election dispute should be limited to the tendering of all the documents used in an election and explaining what they were used for and how they were obtained.

“INEC should stop dancing naked in the market, pretending that no one is seeing its nakedness and its dancing steps,” the court stated while delivering judgement in a Bauchi State House of Assembly election appeal.

Delivering judgment in an appeal related to the Bauchi State House of Assembly election, Justice K. I. Amadi, the lead judge of the three-member panel, emphasized that INEC should limit its role in election disputes to presenting all relevant documents and explaining their use, rather than taking a partisan stance.

The unanimous decision of the panel nullified the election of the Bauchi State House of Assembly Speaker, Abubakar Suleiman, who had been declared the winner of Ningi Central Constituency. The court held that evidence presented established that the election was inconclusive.

In addition to voiding Suleiman’s Certificate of Return, the court directed INEC to conduct a supplementary poll in 10 polling units within 90 days. The appellate court also imposed a cost of N500,000 against INEC.

The judgment followed an appeal by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Khalid Abdulmalik-Ningi, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election.

INEC had declared that Suleiman of the PDP polled a total of 16, 866 votes to defeat his closest rival, Abdulmalik-Ningi of the APC, who scored 15, 065 votes in the election that held on March 18.

However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, the APC candidate lodged a petition before the State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal.

The petitioner, among other things, alleged that results of the election were cancelled due to over-voting or corrupt practices.

Even though INEC which was a Respondent in the matter, denied the claim that there was over-voting, it however failed to produce any witness before the tribunal which eventually dismissed the petition.

The court faulted the tribunal’s dismissal of the APC candidate’s petition, emphasizing that certified INEC documents provided sufficient evidence to support the claim of non-compliance with electoral laws.

It held that going by Section 137 of the Electoral Act 2022, the certified INEC documents were enough to sustain the allegation that the election was not conducted in compliance with provisions of the law.

The court wondered why INEC denied that results of the election were cancelled in some polling units, when its officials established the same fact in Forms EC 40G that they signed and submitted to it.

It held that the tribunal was statutorily empowered to accord probative value to the INEC documents which it said disclosed all information required to prove the alleged non compliance.

It held that the tribunal was statutorily empowered to accord probative value to the INEC documents which it said disclosed all information required to prove the alleged non compliance.