ADAMAWA: Court affirms Usman’s election

The election of Mustapha Usman as member representing Yola South, Yola North, and Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State, has been affirmed by a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.

During the court proceedings, Justice M.B. Idris, on Tuesday, dismissed the appeal by Abdulrauf Abdulkadir Modibbo for lacking in merit, giving Usman cause to celebrate the outcome of the ruling.

The court however upheld the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which disqualified Modibbo over false information to Independent National Electoal Commission (INEC).

Recall that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, had in the judgment on May 3 also ordered the APC and INEC to recognize Mustapha Usman who came second in the party primary of October 7, 2018, as the winner of the February 23 National Assembly election for the constituency he represents.

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The court also established that Usman had established against Modibbo on the offences of false age information, forgery of First School Leaving Certificate, and participating in partisan politics while serving as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

According to Justice Idris, Modibbo violated Paragraph 9 of Section 4 of the NYSC Act by participating in partisan politics while serving as a member of the NYSC.

“No law, not even the 1999 Constitution, envisages that a person can be serving member of the House of Representatives and at the same time a serving corps member. Even if the penalty is extension of service for a period of three months as stated in the 9th Paragraph, Section 4 of the NYSC Act, a person who is a law breaker cannot be allowed to also be lawmaker. Therefore, no person must be allowed to benefit from his illegal activity,” he said.

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