Following months of appeal, the court of Appeal has nullified the election of Senator David Mark and has called for a fresh election to be held
Senator, David Mark
A Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State has nullified the election of former senate president, David Mark.
The Makurdi division of the Court of Appeal on Saturday, ordered a re-run of the poll within 90 days.
In October, the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal upheld the victory of Senator Mark of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Benue South, Mr Donald Onjeh, had challenged the result of the earlier held elections.
Mr Onjeh’s lawyer, Adetunji Oso, urged the Appellate Court to allow his appeal and set aside the decision of the Tribunal. He said the court erred when it held that the papers tendered by his client were mere documentary hearsay.
The documents, according to Mr Oso, demonstrated that while the collation of results for the Benue South senatorial district’s election on March 28 was still ongoing in seven of the nine local government areas, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Senator Mark winner of the poll.
Mark is Nigeria’s longest-serving senator. He was elected in 1999, and re-elected in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. He served as president of the senate for eight years.