MAKU V. AL-MAKURA (2017)

Background

This case arises from the general elections held on April 11, 2015, for the Governorship office of Nasarawa State, where Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner. The appellant, Mr. Labaran Maku, representing the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), received 178,746 votes compared to Al-Makura’s 309,746 votes. Dissatisfied with the election results, the appellants filed a petition alleging electoral malpractices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act, contending that these issues invalidated the election.

Issues

The primary issues before the court included:

1. Whether the respondents' failure to present credible evidence justified the tribunal's dismissal of the petitioners' claims.
2. Whether the tribunal was correct in refusing to attach weight to documents submitted by the appellants.
3. Whether the tribunal rightly concluded that the appellants failed to prove their claims of non-compliance and malpractices.
4. Whether the tribunal's striking out of certain paragraphs from the appellant’s petition and replies was proper.

Ratio Decidendi

The court emphasized that:

1. Issues formulated for determination must arise directly from grounds of appeal filed; otherwise, they are deemed abandoned.
2. The burden of proof lies upon the party making an assertion, particularly in cases alleging violations of electoral laws.
3. Documentary evidence must be properly linked to the facts of the case; otherwise, it risks being disregarded.

Court Findings

The Court of Appeal found the following:

1. The appeal had not successfully demonstrated that the tribunal made errors in dismissing the claims of the appellants regarding alleged electoral malpractices.
2. The witnesses presented by the appellants were largely discredited during cross-examination.
3. The tribunal correctly struck out parts of the appellants’ replies as they introduced new claims not supported by the initial petition.

Conclusion

The appeal was dismissed on all counts. The court upheld the tribunal's conclusions that the appellants failed to provide sufficient credible evidence to support their claims of electoral malpractices and that there was no substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

Significance

This case reinforces the principles of electoral law in Nigeria, particularly the essential nature of evidence in election petitions, burden of proof, and proper procedural practices in presenting electoral disputes. It underlines the necessity for petitioners to substantiate claims with credible evidence to hold validity in electoral disputes.