The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has asked the Legal Professionals Disciplinary Committee (LPDC)seeking a sanction against Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the INEC Resident Election Commissioner in suspended Adamawa state.
The NBA said in a statement Saturday that it sent a petition against attorney Yunusa-Ari, “for his role in illegally declaring the results of the 2023 gubernatorial by-election in Adamawa State while the votes were still being counted.” .
While the results of the latest Adamawa state gubernatorial election were still being compiled, Mr. Yunusa-Ari caused a stir when he illegally declared All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate Aisha Dahiru the winner of the election on April 16th.
At the time when Mr. Yunusa-Ari declared Ms. Dahiru, widely known as Aisha Binani, the winner of the election, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidate and current Adamawa Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, had a clear advantage.
But the electoral referee finally declared Fintiri the winner of the polls after the results of the supplementary election were collated.
INEC has since suspended and filed criminal charges against Mr. Yunusa-Ari.
nba
However, the NBA said in its statement on Saturday that its National Executive Committee (NEC) resolved to submit a petition to the LPDC “regarding the improper conduct of some members of the legal profession” such as Mr. Yunusa-Ari.
NBA National Publicity Secretary Akorede Lawal noted that the NEC association meeting was chaired by its NBA president, Yakubu Maikyau.
“Following the national officials’ rulings, the NBA has filed petitions with the Legal Professionals Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) against Mr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the Adamawa State Resident Election Commissioner suspended from the Independent National Election Commission ( INEC),” the statement said. .
Mr. Maikyau, a Senior Solicitor of Nigeria (SAN), was quoted as reaffirming his commitment to eradicating indiscipline from the legal profession.
Newslodge reported on other resolutions reached at the NBA NEC meeting, including a promise to launch an investigation into an alleged attempted bribery of a National Assembly judge and the State House of Representatives Court of Election Petitions in Kano, Flora Azinge.
Similarly, the association resolved to investigate allegations of sexual assault against Cyril Ndifon, the suspended dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar, Cross River State.
deadlocked trial
INEC had filed six charges against Mr. Yunusa-Ari in the Adamawa State High Court in Yola, the state capital, after the police concluded their investigations into his illegal declaration of Binani as the winner of the gubernatorial election of the state.
But the trial has stalled as a result of a lawsuit filed by Binani at the Federal High Court in Abuja, to prevent INEC from prosecuting the errant REC.
In July, the court granted an interim injunction ordering the parties to the lawsuit to stay action regarding the matter pending a rehearing.
On July 24, the court heard the substantive case and it was adjourned until October 24 to render judgment.
This means that the suspended INEC REC trial will likely remain stalled until judgment is rendered in the case.
Through his lawyer, Michael Aondoakaa, a SAN, the politician based his opposition to the trial of Mr Yunusa-Ari on the fact that the suspended REC was billed to testify in his case against the election result in the court of electoral petitions.
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But INEC’s lawyer, Adebisi Adeniyi, who replaced the commission’s lead lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, a SAN, disagreed with Mr. Aondoakaa’s appearance at the lawsuit hearing.
Mr Adeniyi maintained that the charges brought against the suspended REC were subject to bail which would allow him to testify in court.
The lawyer added that Binani had not submitted anything to the court to show that Mr. Yunusa-Ari was listed as a witness in his petition.
Furthermore, he argued that the plaintiff had also failed to show the court whether the suspended REC had been invited, arrested or charged.
The lawyer said that the judges who would determine the electoral petition were not robots, but duly trained and experienced professionals, and that they would be guided by the law.
According to him, the prosecution of the suspended REC will in no way affect the plaintiff’s petition.
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