Court of Appeal upholds Senator Katung’s victory in Kaduna South senatorial election

The Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed Senator Sunday Marshall Katung as the rightful winner of the Kaduna South senatorial zone election on Saturday, endorsing the earlier judgment of the National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Kaduna.

Presided over by Justice Moore A. A. Adumein, a three-member panel unanimously upheld the tribunal’s decision, dismissing the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Michael Ayuba Auta, for lacking merit.

The court concurred with the tribunal’s ruling, emphasizing the correctness of upholding Senator Sunday Marshall Katung’s victory from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Justice Adumein praised the tribunal’s articulate and thorough decision, stating, “Even a casual reading of the judgment reveals that the tribunal was very articulate and thorough in its decision.”

The court maintained that Michael Ayuba Auta failed to substantiate the criminal allegation of allocating unlawful votes to the winner of the February 25th election. It agreed with the tribunal’s assessment that there was insufficient evidence to prove the election’s invalidity due to corrupt practices.

In dismissing the appeal, the court imposed a fine of N600,000 against Michael Ayuba Auta, favoring Senator Sunday Marshall Katung, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the PDP.