The national and state House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Kano has delivered a landmark judgment, sacking Muktar Yarima, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate representing Tarauni federal constituency.
The three-member tribunal, in its ruling on Thursday, found that Yarima had submitted a forged primary school certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of his qualifications.
Yarima had been declared the victor of the Tarauni federal constituency poll, securing 26,273 votes and surpassing Hafizu Kawu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 15,931 votes.
However, Kawu, a former member of the House of Representatives seeking re-election, challenged Yarima’s victory by filing a petition on the grounds of certificate forgery and other electoral irregularities.
The tribunal’s judgment pronounced Yarima guilty of certificate forgery, a grave offense that raises questions about the authenticity of his qualifications.
Additionally, the court concluded that the NNPP did not field a legitimate candidate for the election, rendering all votes cast for Yarima null and void.
As a result of this ruling, the tribunal issued a decisive order to INEC, compelling the electoral body to withdraw the certificate of return previously granted to Yarima.
