The Supreme Court has reserved ruling on the application brought by the All Progressives Congress seeking review of its judgment nullifying the party’s victories in the general elections held in 2019 in Zamfara State.
A five-man panel of the court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, said the date of the ruling would be communicated to the parties.
The CJN made the announcement after the court had listened to the arguments of parties to the case on Tuesday.
The APC and the faction of the party in Zamfara State led by former Governor Abdulaziz Yari had filed the application for the review of the May 24, 2019 judgment, which had nullified their victories at the general elections barely four days to their inauguration.
Recall that the court had on May 24, 2019, declared that the APC failed to conduct valid primaries and, therefore, had no candidates in the 2019 general elections.
It had also declared the votes polled by the APC in the elections invalid.
READ ALSO: Zamfara APC Primaries: Supreme Court Dismisses Request To Review Judgment
The Peoples Democratic Party and its candidates, who polled the next highest votes in the elections, were declared the winners of the elections and eventually inaugurated.
The APC’s application for the review of the May 24, 2019 judgment was opposed by Senator Kabiru Marafa-led faction of the party in the state.
APC’s lawyer, Robert Clarke (SAN), on Tuesday urged the court to grant his clients’ application by setting aside the consequential order which directed that the candidates with the next highest votes be sworn in.
He urged the apex court to order the APC to conduct fresh primaries arguing that the previous orders of the apex court were made without jurisdiction.
But the Marafa faction’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), urged the apex court to dismiss the application and award huge and punitive costs against the applicants’ lawyer.