Borno election tribunal dissolved on judgment day •Tension in Kwara as Ahmed, Belgore know fate today

THERE was palpable suspense, on Thursday, as the acting president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Dalhatu Adamu, dissolved the Borno State governorship election petitions tribunal a few minutes before the panel would deliver judgment in the petition brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its standard-bearer, Mohammed Goni, challenging the victory of Governor Kashim Shettima of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in the April 26 governorship election.
The panel was billed to deliver judgment in the petition on Thursday, as its duration expires on Sunday, going by the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended).
The Zone Two Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, venue of the tribunal was filled to capacity with supporters and party faithful who had arrived as early as 7.00 a.m. waiting to know who would carry the day.
All counsel in the matter, as well as journalists, were already seated, awaiting the arrival of members of the panel, when the secretary of the panel came in to announce the dissolution.
According to him,” I have been directed by the registrar of the Court of Appeal to inform you that this tribunal has been dissolved and so will not be sitting today. We shall all wait for further directives.”
All efforts to get the acting president of the Court of Appeal for more information on why the tribunal was dissolved were unsuccessful, as he was said to be too busy to attend to anybody when Nigerian Tribune visited his office.

The Supreme Court had, last Monday, vacated an interim order made by the Court of Appeal sitting in Jos, restraining the tribunal from delivering judgment in the petition filed  by the PDP and Goni.
The Court of Appeal made the order as requested by the petitioners, who were denied same by the tribunal.
In another development, apprehension and anxiety have enveloped Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, as the governorship election petitions tribunal sitting in Ilorin delivers judgment in the case between Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Dele Belgore today.
Armoured vehicles have started patrolling major roads and streets since the beginning of the week, to ensure security, while plain-clothes security men had been drafted to provide information on security.
It was also gathered that schools located around the venue of the tribunal sitting had been directed to go on forced holiday today, as part of measures to ensure adequate security.

Source: Nigerian Tribune