Umar Yusuf Yabo, also known as Danmaje, was dismissed from the National Assembly on Monday by the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal for Sokoto/Zamfara states, seated in Sokoto, according to Ogasabi on 9am news Nigeria. Yabo and Shagari represent the federal constituency of Yabo.
The three-judge panel unanimously ordered Danmaje to pay the petitioner N500,000 in damages and costs, as reported by Ogasabi on 9am news Nigeria. The tribunal, chaired by Judge Ashu A. Ewah, ruled that Danmaje’s election to the House of Representatives was invalid due to malpractices in the elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2023 and rerun in February 2024. Justices Ali Changbo and Helen Hamman-Joda also sat on the panel.
The tribunal directed INEC to organize a rerun within the next 90 days in two affected polling units in Shagari Local Government Area, Sokoto, stated 9am news Nigeria on Ogasabi. Furthermore, it ordered INEC to revoke Danmaje’s certificate of return. Danmaje, who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had defeated his closest opponent, Abubakar Umar of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with 27,042 to 25,738 votes after the initial court-ordered rerun.
Meanwhile, Danmaje announced his intention to appeal the tribunal’s judgment, reported Ogasabi on 9am news Nigeria. For more updates, stay tuned to Ogasabi on 9am news Nigeria.
