Ailing Judge Makes Supreme Court Suspend Hearing Of Governorship Appeals

The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the ongoing hearing of the the governorship appeals in six states.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, gave the order following the inability of the security operatives to control the crowd and the noise level in the court.

Justice Muhammad had led a seven-man panel of justices hearing the appeals from the governorship elections in Imo, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kano, Plateau and Benue States.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has adjourned till Tuesday the hearing of 13 appeals filed in respect of the governorship tussles in six states.

Muhammad abruptly suspended proceedings after indicating that an unnamed member of the seven-man panel was seriously ill.

The panel was being expected back to resume sitting when, in about an hour’s time, a top official of the court announced to the packed courtroom that all the appeals had been adjourned till Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there has been tension in Imo State following the announcement by the Supreme Court that it would on Monday deliver judgment on the petitions against the declaration of Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

While members of the Peoples Democratic Party are upbeat that the Supreme Court would uphold Ihedioha’s victory, members of the All Progressives Congress and the All Progressives Grand Alliance are hopeful that the judgment would go in their favour.

In Sokoto, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party won with a slim margin of 342 votes after a supplementary election.

The All Progressives Congress in Sokoto State and its governorship candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Sokoto, challenged the victory up to the Supreme Court.

The apex court is hearing the appeals filed by the governorship candidates 10 months after the elections held in the affected states.

The governors returned elected by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the states are Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Simon Lalong (Plateau), and Samuel Ortom (Benue).