The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, sacked a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulra’uf Modibbo, who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, after it was confirmed that he falsified his age to contest election.
The apex court, in a unanimous judgement by a five-man panel of Justices, equally found that the lawmaker who hitherto represented Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State, did not complete his one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, scheme.
In a lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, the apex court held that though both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, in Abuja, also nullified Modibbo’s election, it said the lower courts were wrong to have ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to replace him with Mustapha Usman who came second in the APC primaries.
The Supreme Court held that Usman, having not participated in all stages of the election, could not be sworn in as a member of the House of Reps in Modibbo’s stead.
Consequently, it ordered INEC to issue Certificate of Return to candidate of the political party that secured second highest number of votes at the general election.