Tribunal removes NNPP House of Reps member over certificate forgery

The Kano National and State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal has ousted Muktar Yarima, a representative of Tarauni Federal Constituency from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

In a verdict issued on Thursday, the three-member tribunal determined that the primary school certificate provided by Yarima to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in support of his qualifications was determined to be forged.

Yarima had been declared the winner in the Tarauni federal constituency election, securing 26,273 votes ahead of Hafizu Kawu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who obtained 15,931 votes.

However, Kawu, a former member of the House of Representatives, who was seeking re-election, filed a complaint contesting Yarima’s win on the grounds of certificate forgery.

In his petition, Kawu also alleged that irregularities such as over-voting and failure to adhere to the electoral act had marred the election.

In its judgment, the tribunal ruled that the NNPP candidate was indeed guilty of certificate forgery.

The court additionally concluded that the political party lacked a valid candidate in the election, rendering all votes cast for Yerima null and void.

As a result, the tribunal directed INEC to retract the certificate of return previously granted to Yarima.