The Kano State National and State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal has nullified the election of Muktar Umar Yerima of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as the House of Representatives member for Tarauni Federal Constituency.

The petitioner, Hafizu Kawu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had challenged Yerima’s eligibility and presented evidence proving the forgery allegations.

The tribunal’s three-man panel, led by Justice I.P. Chima, ruled that Yerima’s victory was invalid due to the forgery of his primary school certificate, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice I.P. Chima, while delivering the tribunal’s decision, stated, “After a thorough examination of the evidence presented before us, it has been established beyond reasonable doubt that Muktar Umar Yerima submitted a forged primary school certificate to the INEC. This act disqualifies him from holding the position he was elected to.”

The tribunal ruled that the NNPP had no legitimate candidate in the election and declared all the votes cast for Yerima as “wasted votes”.

The tribunal also directed INEC to withdraw the certificate of return that had previously been issued to Yerima, effectively stripping him of his elected position.

In his defense, Yerima had claimed to have legally changed his name in 2022.

However, the tribunal rejected this argument, emphasising that Yerima’s inconsistent use of multiple names – Umar Mukhtar Zakari – on his passport since 2009 undermined his credibility.

Furthermore, the primary school in question, Hausawa Primary School, disowned the certificate presented by Yerima.