In 2019, Senator Sani Danladi, President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominee from Taraba State, faced disqualification from contesting or holding political offices due to allegations of certificate forgery and age falsification.
During the screening of the 28 ministerial nominees sent by President Bola Tinubu at the National Assembly, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read out the list, which included Senator Sani Danladi, alongside other prominent figures like former Governors Dave Umahi, Nyesom Wike, and Nasir El-Rufai.
However, it was brought to light, through a publication on the Taraba State website, that Senator Sani Danladi had been barred in 2019 from participating in the elections and holding any political office for a period of ten years due to the discovery of certificate forgery and age falsification.
Before the 2019 general elections, a High Court in Jalingo disqualified Sani Danladi from contesting after it was revealed that he had presented a forged document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The case proceeded to the Court of Appeal and later reached the Supreme Court, where the apex court upheld the judgment of the lower court, confirming the falsification of the certificate presented to INEC by Sani Danladi.
As a result, the Supreme Court ruled that Senator Sani Danladi would be ineligible to contest any election until the completion of a ten-year period following the judgment.
The Gazette done by Taraba State reads in part; “A five man Panel of the Supreme Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja today the 5th day of July, 2019 and composed of The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria Tanko Mohammed JSC, Mary Peter Odili JSC, Olukayode Ariwoola JSC, Paul Galumje JSC and Uwani Abbaji JSC have dismissed the Appeal filed by Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi the purported APC Governorship candidate in the 2019 Taraba state Governorship election which challenges his disqualification by the Federal High Court, Jalingo.
“The Supreme Court dismissed the Appeal for being incompetent and failing to meet the requirements of the law.
“Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi was disqualified from contesting the 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state on the 6th day of March, 2019 by the Federal High Court, Jalingo presided over by Honorable Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam.
“However, on the 7th day of March, 2019 the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola and composed of Chidi Nwaoma Uwa JCA (Presiding), James Shehu Abiriyi JCA and Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero JCA granted an interim stay of status quo in favour of Sani Abubakar Danladi which enabled him to stand for the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state.
“The Court of Appeal sitting in Yola subsequently and still composed of the above mentioned Justices later heard the Appeal of Sani Abubakar Danladi on the merit and struck out the Appeal for being incompetent on the 3rd May 2019.
“Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi further Appealed to the Supreme Court against the judgement of the Court of Appeal which Appeal the Supreme Court have struck out/dismissed today for being incompetent and failing to meet the requirements of the law.
“1. The judgement of the Supreme Court against the Appeal of Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi today the 5th day of July, 2019 means that the Judgement of the Federal High Court, Jalingo which disqualified Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi from contesting the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state still subsist and has full effect because as it stands now; the Federal High Court judgement have not been altered nor set aside by the Supreme Court which is the highest court in Nigeria.
“a. As it stands today, it is deemed by the law that APC had no candidate in the March 9th Governorship election held in Taraba state.
“b. Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi (Sani Contact) was not the candidate of APC in the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state.
“c. Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi never contested the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state against Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku; and Sani was not recognized by APC as their candidate. He is neither recognised by INEC as a candidate for APC during the election.
“d. Every vote cast (Score) for Sani Abubakar Danladi and APC in the March 9th, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state was colossal and amounted to nothing.”
“EFFECT OF THE JUDGEMENT ON ALHAJI SANI ABUBAKAR DANLADI’S POLITICAL CAREER AND FUTURE. Sani Abubakar Danladi destroyed himself and committed political suicide by presenting a questionable WAEC certificate to INEC and lying on oath in his form CF001 before the 2019 election about his age.
“By virtue of the judgement, Sani Abubakar Danladi is finished politically and morally. Sani now stands a chance to be sent to prison should the appropriate and relevant investigative and prosecutory institutions in Taraba state receive his documents in their table. Lying on oath in INEC form CF001 and using a WAEC certificate that does not belong to him to obtain political benefit are both criminal. “
“The Taraba state government is also under a heavy moral and legal obligation to do the needful by raising a GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER recognising the judgement and thereafter Gazette/Publish same in the official Gazette of the state; and this shall imply that Sani Abubakar Danladi shall not be qualified to contest for; nor hold any political office from the date of the Gazette to a period of ten years. Taraba state government do not have a choice in this regard except to Gazette the judgement else the government will be accused of aiding and abetting crime,” the statement added.