By Suleiman Yakubu

The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Minna, Niger State, on Monday upheld the election of Isah Abdullahi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Isah Abdullahi, who contested the April 18 Niger State House of Assembly election in the Kontagora two state constituency, was challenged by Mohammed Nasir of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the ground that he was not qualified to contest the election.
The petitioner approached the tribunal alleging that the defendant did not possess the requisite qualification to contest the state house of assembly election to represent the Kontagora two state constituency in the election conducted on April 18, 2023.
He alleged that, apart from not having the requisite qualifications, the election was characterised by irregularities, over-voting, and other malpractices, and therefore requested that the tribunal nullify the election.
Three witnesses and subpoenaed witnesses testified before the tribunal, which included the Electoral Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The respondent counsel, Barrister Ibrahim Isah Atabo, did not call any witness, as he told the tribunal during the trial and the adoption of the final written addresses that he relied on the subpoenaed witnesses of the petitioner to close his case.
In the over two-hour judgement delivered by Justice Mojisola Ishaq Sule, of the three-member panel, she submitted that the petitioner failed in entirety to prove all the allegations raised in his petition, and it was dismissed without any course.
Fielding questions from journalists shortly after the judgement, Barrister Ibrahim Isah Atabo commended the tribunal for their courage in delivering the judgement, describing it as eloquent.
He stated that the petitioner has no reason to approach the tribunal with the "unsubstantiated allegations against the respondent in the first place, because there is no basis for filing the petition.
"That was the reason we refused to call any witness to testify, and we relied on his own witnesses".
He called on politicians to always accept the outcome of the election results; this, he noted, will go a long way towards nurturing our democracy.
In his own remarks, the respondent, Hon. Isah Abdullahi, requested the petitioner to join hands with him to move Kontagora two constituency forward.
He appreciated the tribunal for allowing justice to prevail, stressing that the judiciary will always remain the last hope of the common man.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Police operatives attached to the Mokwa Division of Nigeria Police, Niger State Command, have arrested two suspects with sixteen bags of weed suspected to be Indian hemp.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Niger State Command, DSP Wasiu Abidoun, in a press release signed by him on behalf of the commissioner, CP Ogundele Joshua Ayodeji, and obtained by Newsline, said that the police had on September 6, 2023, at about 00:10 hrs, received credible intelligence, which led to the arrest of the two suspects.
The suspects, according to him, were Auta Umar Sayu, 25 years old, and Mohammed Bala, 52 years old, both of them from Mokwa.
The PPRO said in the press release that Auta Umar Saidu was intercepted and arrested at Muwo village during an attempt to ferry sixteen bags of suspected Indian hemp to Ndayako village.
DSP Abidoun further disclosed that Auta had, during interrogation, confessed that he was sent by Bala to receive the bags from one Lawal who brought the items from Ondo State, and he took the delivery while Lawal left.
Bala, according to him, was later arrested while both of them confessed that the bags were for sale, adding that they were in business together for about eight months.
The two suspects, according to the press release, were transferred to SCID Minna, and they have been arraigned in court for prosecution.