Protest rocks Plateau after Appeal Court verdict sacking PDP’s Gov Caleb Mutfwang

Following the appeal court verdict that sacked Caleb Mutfwang as governor of Plateau state, some residents of Jos, the state capital, rejected the judgment and called for a review.

In a unanimous decision on Sunday, November 19, a three-member panel of justices in the appellate court declared that Mutfwang was not adequately nominated and sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the March 18 gubernatorial election.

The court ruled that all votes credited to him and the PDP were considered invalid.

Despite the court's decision, residents in Jos staged a peaceful protest yesterday, denouncing the judgment as an act of "injustice."

Youths demand review of appeal court judgment

According to The Guardian, Philemon Jangkam, the youth leader of Angwan Rukuba Junction, said:

“We started noticing the injustice right from the court of appeal judgments that sacked Isaac Kwallu, Simon Mwadkon and other lawmakers.

"We the youth of this community are not happy and we will not accept this judgment. We will continue to protest until this judgment and the ones that sacked our National Assembly members are reviewed.”

Samson Iliya criticised the ruling, viewing it as a deliberate undermining of the people's choice.

He said: “We call on the NJC to review all the judgments so as to redeem the sinking image of the judiciary.

"We massively voted for the governor and the sacked lawmakers; they are the choices of the majority of Plateau people, and we will not allow the judiciary to decide who should lead us.”

Meanwhile, a youth named Pankyes Yanksat from Gyero Junction suggested that Mutfwang challenge the Supreme Court judgment immediately.

Yanksat expressed confidence that Mutfwang's mandate could be reinstated, urging the judges at the apex court to base their decision on the case's merits and set aside any emotional considerations.