INEC after reviewing police case against the REC filed a six-count charge against him at a high court
in Yola
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has filed a six-count charge against Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa state.
This was revealed in a statement made available by INEC on Thursday, where it said the charges were filed at a high court in Yola, the state capital.
The electoral body went on to say the charges were instituted after reviewing the case file from the police which established a prima facie case against the REC.
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Yunusa-Ari caused a stir after the supplementary election in Adamawa state on 16 April when he declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Aisha Dahiru, also known as Binani, as the winner of the election even though votes were still being counted and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Governor Ahmadu Finitiri in a clear lead.
INEC, later dismissed Ari’s declaration while former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the REC’s suspension on the commission’s request
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) eventually arrested him over his conduct during the governorship election.
He was, however, granted administrative bail and asked to report to the headquarters of the NPF every weekday.
Defending his action, Yunusa-Ari said he announced results of 69 polling units in the April 15 supplementary election due to security pressure.
He stated his reasons for the April 16 declaration in a letter addressed to the then Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, copied INEC chairman and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, where he insisted he acted within the ambit of the law to avert looming danger of the delay in announcing the results.
He added that he observed that the results brought by the presiding officers from the 69 polling units, which he did not sign, differed from those uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing, IReV, portal.
He said: “I had the breakdown of the valid votes scored by the two leading candidates in the supplementary election, using the results from the polling units as collated into all relevant forms EC8B, C, D and E respectively by properly and legally appointed and recognised collation officers and my humble self as the Adamawa State Chief Collation Officer and Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).”