The Court of Presidential Election Petitions opened in May, and various judges have presided over various petitions related to the 2023 presidential election.
Five political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Labour Party,(LP) People’s Party for Action (APP), United People’s Movement (APM) and Alliance for Action (AA), had submitted separate petitions to the court seeking to annul Tinub’s victory.
The meeting of the five-member panel of judges will be chaired by Chief Justice Harna Tsamani.
On the day of the final judgment, five lawyers will deliberate and may vote on the final decision in case of disagreement on the issues raised in the trial.
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Their decision will not be final as dissatisfied parties may appeal to the Supreme Court.
But many lawyers, for or against it, agree that the Court of Appeal’s decision will set the tone for the Supreme Court’s final decision.
Below are the five Judges decided Tinubu’s, Atiku’s, Obi’s fate at Tribunal
- Justice Haruna Tsammani – Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Haruna Tsammani was born on November 23, 1959. He hails from Tafawa Balewa LGA of Bauchi State.
The judge obtained his LL.B degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1982.
He attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos for his BL in 1983, and started as a High Court judge in Bauchi State on September 17, 1998.
He was later elevated to the Court of Appeal on July 16, 2010.
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He is the longest-serving Justice of the Court of Appeal among the five members of the panel. Tsammani has spent half of his 24 years as a judge on the Court of Appeal bench which he was elevated to in July 2010.
Tsammani delivered one of the judgements of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that affirmed the second term election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
He also delivered the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that issued the order restraining the Rivers and Lagos state governments from taking action on their bids to collect Value Added Tax (VAT).
- Justice Stephen Adah – Court of Appeal (Asaba division)
Justice Stephen Adah who is the presiding Justice of the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal, was born on June 13, 1957. He hails from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Adah obtained his LL.B degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981. He attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, for his BL in 1982.
He was appointed a judge of the Federal High Court on November 12, 1998, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on November 5, 2012. He served as a member of the three-man panel that granted Obi and Atiku’s motions to serve Tinubu their petitions by substituted means.
Adah delivered the lead judgement of a three-member panel that affirmed the conviction of a former Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, on 16 November 2018. President Muhammadu Buhari would later grant a widely condemned pardon to Dariye alongside a former governor of Taraba, Jolly Nyame, after their conviction and jailing had been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
- Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf – Court of Appeal (Asaba Division)
Justice Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf is the only female member of the five-man panel of the court. She was born on August 7, 1959, and hails from Oyo West LGA of Oyo State.
The judge obtained her LL.B degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1983. She attended the Nigerian Law School the following year for her BL certificate.
She was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Oyo State on January 30, 1997, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 2014.
- Justice Moses Ugo – Kano division.
At 57, Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo is the youngest among the judges on the panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court. He hails from Kolokuma/Opokua Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Justice Ugo obtained his LL.B degree from the University of Calabar in 1989, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL certificate. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State on March 21, 2006, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 201.
- Justice Abba Mohammed – Ibadan Court of Appeal.
Justice Abba Mohammed hails from Kano State. He was born on February 19, 1961.
He obtained his LL.B degree from the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1984, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL Certificate in 1985.
Justice Mohammed was appointed a judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in 2010.
After serving for about 10 years, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2021. He was the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Tribunal in 2019.
The judges presiding over the court are:
1. Judge Haruna Tsamani – Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeals.
Judge Harna Tsamani was born on November 23, 1959. He hails from Tafawa Balewa LGA, Bauchi State.
Judge Ahmadu of Zaria received his Bachelor of Laws degree from his Belo University in 1982. He attended the Nigerian Law School in Lagos in 1983 for his bachelor’s degree and was inaugurated as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Bauchi State on 17 September 1998.
He was subsequently appointed to the Court of Appeals on 16 July 2010.
He is the longest-serving Court of Appeal judge of the five members of the Commission. Tsamani was appointed to the Court of Appeal in July 2010 after spending half of his 24 years as a judge of the Court of Appeal.
Tsamani announced one of the decisions of the Abuja Court of Appeals upholding the election of Kogi governor Yahya Bello for a second term.
He also announced a decision by the Abuja Court of Appeal barring the Rivers and Lagos state governments from taking action on VAT claims.
2nd Judge Stephen Adah – Court of Appeals (Asaba Branch)
Judge Stephen Ada, Chief of the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal, was born on June 13, 1957. He hails from Dekina Municipal Area in Kogi State.
Ada received his Bachelor of Laws in 1981 from Ahmadu his Belo University in Zaria. He attended the Nigerian Law School in Lagos in 1982 for his bachelor’s degree.
He was appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Justice on 12 November 1998 and then a judge of the Court of Appeal on 5 November 2012.
He was a member of a three-man committee that granted Obi and Atiku’s requests for service to Tinub and granted petitions with alternative funding.
On November 16, 2018, Ada announced the final verdict of a three-member panel upholding the conviction of former Plateau Governor Joshua Darrier.
Subsequently, President Muhammadu Buhari, along with former Taraba governor Jolly, granted Darye a pardon for the widely condemned Nyameh after his conviction and detention were upheld by the Supreme Court. 3. Judge Monsurat Boraj Yusuf – Court of Appeals (Asaba Branch)
Judge Misthullah Boraj-Yusuf is the only female member of the court’s five-member commission. She was born on August 7, 1959 and hails from Oyo Her West LGA, Oyo State.
Judge received her Bachelor of Laws degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife in 1983. The following year, she attended law school in Nigeria to obtain her BL certificate.
She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Oyo on January 30, 1997 and to the Court of Appeals on March 24, 2014.
4. Judge Moses Hugo – Kano Division.
Judge Borcuoromo Hugo, 57, is the youngest judge on a presidential election petitions tribunal. He is from the department of Colocuma/Opqua, province of Baelsa. Richter Hugo received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calabar in 1989 and attended the Nigerian Law School in Lagos for his BL certificate the following year. On March 21, 2006, he was appointed a judge of the Bayelsa Supreme Court and on March 24, 2011, a judge of the Court of Appeal.
5. Abba Mohammed Judge – Ibadan Court of Appeals.
Judge Abba Mohammed is from Kano State. He was born on February 19, 1961.
He received his Bachelor of Laws degree from Ahmadu his Bello University Institute of Management in Zaria in 1984 and the following year attended his Nigerian Law School in Lagos and obtained his BL certificate in 1985.
Judge Mohammed was appointed as Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in 2010.
He was promoted to the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2021 after serving for about 10 years.H
e served as president of the Nasarawa Governors Association in 2019.
In May, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal commenced its sitting with various justices presiding over the various petitions concerning the 2023 presidential election.
Five political parties including the PDP, LP, Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the Action Alliance (AA) had lodged separate petitions before the tribunal seeking to annul Tinubu’s victory.
The sitting of the five-man panel of justices is headed by the presiding justice, Justice Haruna Tsammani.
On the day of the final judgement, the five jurists will deliberate and possibly vote to take a final decision, in case there are disagreements on issues thrown up at trial.
The decision is, however, not final, as a displeased party can still appeal to the Supreme Court.
However, many lawyers agree that the Court of Appeal’s decision sets the tone of the final decision of the Supreme Court, either in concurrence or disagreement.
The judges presiding over the tribunal are:
1. Justice Haruna Tsammani – Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Haruna Tsammani was born on November 23, 1959. He hails from Tafawa Balewa LGA of Bauchi State.
The judge obtained his LL.B degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1982.
He attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos for his BL in 1983, and started as a High Court judge in Bauchi State on September 17, 1998.
He was later elevated to the Court of Appeal on July 16, 2010.
He is the longest-serving Justice of the Court of Appeal among the five members of the panel. Tsammani has spent half of his 24 years as a judge on the Court of Appeal bench which he was elevated to in July 2010.
Tsammani delivered one of the judgements of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that affirmed the second term election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
He also delivered the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that issued the order restraining the Rivers and Lagos state governments from taking action on their bids to collect Value Added Tax (VAT).
2. Justice Stephen Adah – Court of Appeal (Asaba division)
Justice Stephen Adah who is the presiding Justice of the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal, was born on June 13, 1957. He hails from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Adah obtained his LL.B degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981. He attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, for his BL in 1982.
He was appointed a judge of the Federal High Court on November 12, 1998, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on November 5, 2012. He served as a member of the three-man panel that granted Obi and Atiku’s motions to serve Tinubu their petitions by substituted means.
Adah delivered the lead judgement of a three-member panel that affirmed the conviction of a former Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, on 16 November 2018.
President Muhammadu Buhari would later grant a widely condemned pardon to Dariye alongside a former governor of Taraba, Jolly Nyame, after their conviction and jailing had been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
- Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf – Court of Appeal (Asaba Division)
Justice Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf is the only female member of the five-man panel of the court. She was born on August 7, 1959, and hails from Oyo West LGA of Oyo State.
The judge obtained her LL.B degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1983. She attended the Nigerian Law School the following year for her BL certificate.
She was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Oyo State on January 30, 1997, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 2014.
4. Justice Moses Ugo – Kano division.
At 57, Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo is the youngest among the judges on the panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court. He hails from Kolokuma/Opokua Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Justice Ugo obtained his LL.B degree from the University of Calabar in 1989, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL certificate.
He was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State on March 21, 2006, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 201.
5. Justice Abba Mohammed – Ibadan Court of Appeal.
Justice Abba Mohammed hails from Kano State. He was born on February 19, 1961.
He obtained his LL.B degree from the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1984, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL Certificate in 1985.
Justice Mohammed was appointed a judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in 2010.
After serving for about 10 years, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2021. He was the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Tribunal in 2019.
In this report, The Nation chronicles the profile of five eminent jurists who will deliver the verdict:
Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo
Justice Abba Mohammed
Justice Abba Mohammed hails from Kano State. He was born on February 19, 1961.
He obtained his LL.B degree from the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1984, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL Certificate in 1985.
Justice Mohammed was appointed a judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in 2010.
After serving for about 10 years, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2021. He was the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Tribunal in 2019.
