The Court of Appeal sitting in Jalingo has ordered a stay of execution on the disqualification of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Mr Sani Danladi.
Justice Chidi Uwa gave the order on Thursday, a day after the Federal High Court in Jalingo disqualified Mr Danladi from participating in the coming governorship election in the state.
He stayed the execution of the order of the lower court following a motion ex-parte filed by Mr Danladi and the APC.
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The judge asked Mr Usman Udi and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as others listed as the respondents to maintain status quo, pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by the applicants on Thursday.
He also issued an interim injunction restraining the respondents from taking further steps towards the execution of the judgement of the lower court.
The APC candidate was disqualified from the election over the allegation of improper declaration of age.
The suit was filed by Mr Udi and three others while the APC and INEC were joined as the second and third defendants respectively.
Delivering judgment on the case on Wednesday, Justice Steven Pam had held that there were discrepancies in the age declaration of the defendant.
According to him, the information contained in Danladi’s affidavit that he was born on February 14, 1968, was contrary to his date of birth contained in the West African Senior School Certificate he submitted to INEC, indicating that he was born on April 3, 1977.
The presiding judge had, thereafter, disqualified the APC candidate from contesting the election scheduled for March 9, or any subsequent date to be slated.
He explained that this was because the information contained in the affidavit in support of Danladi’s personal particulars in the INEC Form CF001 submitted to the commission as to his age “is false”.
Justice Pam had also restrained INEC and the APC from recognising, accepting or treating Danladi as the candidate of the party for the election.
He also stopped the first defendant from parading himself as the candidate of the APC for the poll.
