Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja decided on Friday that a case brought by Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State, should be thrown out.
Yunusa-Ari wanted protection from being arrested, held in custody, or prosecuted by the police and others.
In the case, filed by his lawyer Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), Yunusa-Ari asked for an order to stop the police and other security forces from arresting or detaining him for doing his job as the REC in Adamawa during the supplementary governorship election on April 15, 2023.
He also wanted an order for the respondents to apologize in two national newspapers for what he claimed were unfair media trials and negative stories about him while he was doing his job in the state.
The people or organizations he was suing include the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Attorney-General of Federation, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Yunusa-Ari almost caused trouble in Adamawa when he announced Aisha “Binani” Dahiru, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, as the winner of the state governorship election based on only a few results from the 21 local government areas in the state.
However, INEC quickly reversed this decision and told Yunusa-Ari to stay away from election duties in the state.
He was suspended from his role by INEC following approval from former President Muhammadu Buhari in April of the previous year.
INEC later filed six criminal charges against Yunusa-Ari at the Adamawa State High Court in Yola on July 6, 2023, regarding his actions during the election in the state.
During Friday’s court session, Justice Omotosho dismissed Yunusa-Ari’s case because it lacked merit.
He said that while Yunusa-Ari tried hard to protect himself from being arrested, detained, or prosecuted, there wasn’t any legal basis for such protection.
The judge agreed with the respondents’ argument that Yunusa-Ari’s claims about being subjected to a media trial were not valid.
He noted that Yunusa-Ari also complained about negative information being posted about him on social media, but the judge said that media coverage of important matters is part of their job and doesn’t necessarily violate anyone’s rights to a fair hearing.
In the end, Justice Omotosho described Yunusa-Ari’s case as not having much merit and dismissed it accordingly, saying that the court wouldn’t prevent anyone from being investigated or prosecuted if there was enough evidence against them.
