The Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the appeal of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Saidu Umar, in the 2023 governorship election.

The petitioners seek to set aside the September 30 verdict by the state governorship election petition tribunal that declared Governor Ahmed Aliyu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) the poll winner.

On Tuesday, the three-member panel, led by Justice Joseph Ekanem, told both parties that they would be informed when the judgment was ready.

The tribunal had dismissed the petition by Umar and the PDP, saying that the petitioners failed to prove their case.

But arguing his client’s case, the appellant’s lawyer, Sunday Ameh (SAN), faulted the tribunal’s judgement, adding that the tribunal was wrong to reject the evidence of the subpoenaed witnesses invited by his client, on the grounds that their written depositions were not filed along with the petition. 

Mr Ameh, therefore, prayed the court to grant their appeal and set aside the tribunal’s judgment.

However, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Hassan Liman (SAN) and Ibrahim Mohammed, who are counsels to the respondent, urged the court to affirm the tribunal’s judgment, which, according to them, was unassailable.

Mr Olanipekun noted that the appellants failed to appeal against 11 profound findings of the trial tribunal and therefore prayed the court to dismiss the appeal for being unmeritorious.