MR. LABARAN MAKU V AUDU ALHAJI SULE

Issue:

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, hereinafter referred to as the lower court, delivered on the 19th day of July 2019, affirming the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal's decision dismissing the appellants' petition as having been abandoned. The appellant had, by petition No. EPT/NS/GOV/04/2019 dated 31st March 2019, challenged the election and return of the 1st respondent as the Governor of Nasarawa State by the 3rd respondent on the 10th March, 2019. The 1st respondent, the appellant asserted, was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes and that the declaration was invalid by reason of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended. The appellants/petitioners' application for the issuance of a pre-hearing notice, as in FORM TF 008, was filed on the 6th May 2019, well before their being served with 1st respondent's reply to their petition on the 9th May, 2019. The application was served on the respondents on the 7th May, 2019. Although all the three respondents to appellants' petition had variously challenged the validity of the appellants' application for the issuance of the pre-hearing notice dated and filed on 6th May 2019, only 1st respondent's objection thereon filed on the 28th May, 2019 was heard and determined by the trial tribunal which, in a ruling delivered on 30th May 2019, upheld the objection and dismissed appellants' petition as having been abandoned. Aggrieved by the tribunal's ruling, the petitioners appealed to the lower court whereat, by its judgment of 19 July 2019, their appeal No. CA/MK/EP/GOV/10/2019 was dismissed. Being further dissatisfied, the appellants have appealed to the Supreme Court vide a notice of appeal filed on 31st day of July, 2019 predicated on three grounds.