Illegal substitution: Court adjourns case

The Federal High Court, Kaduna, on Monday adjourned a case of alleged illegal substitution brought before it by a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over affidavit evidence.

Yahaya Yunusa had filed a suit on March 6, 2015 over the substitution of his name with another as member representing Dawakin Kudu constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly in the just concluded elections.

Justice Evelyn Anyadike, in her ruling, said the court could not trail the matter using affidavit evidence, and adjourned the case to January 21, 2016.

Shedding more light on the case after the court’s sitting, counsel to Yunusa, Barrister Abdulkarim Kabir Mande said, “We filed this matter under what we call originating summons; that is for the court to determine the case via affidavit evidence. Unfortunately, the court ruled that we should provide witnesses to prove the case, and that the matter could not be dealt with under affidavit evidence.

“The matter was brought before the court over illegal substitution. The name of our client was forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the candidate representing Dawakin Kudu in the State House of Assembly on the platform of the APC, but maliciously, his name was substituted with that of the other candidate. So we are in court to prove that our client did not die, neither did he write any letter withdrawing his candidacy,” he said.