Ahead of the judgment on the Kano State Governorship Election Petition, a heavy contingent of Nigerian policemen and other security operatives have been deployed at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. This heightened security is believed to be a preemptive measure to forestall potential unrest that may follow the verdict, similar to the reactions that erupted in Kano after the tribunal’s decision on the same matter in September....Click Here To Continue Reading>>
In the March 18 gubernatorial election, Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with 1,019,602 votes, while his main challenger, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), received 890,705 votes. However, the APC disputed the results, alleging widespread electoral malpractice, and filed a petition at the tribunal.
On September 20, a three-member panel of judges led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay ruled in favour of the APC, invalidating 165,663 of Yusuf’s votes due to a lack of signatures or stamps from INEC officials. This reduced Yusuf’s vote count to 853,939, placing him behind Gawuna, who retained his original tally of 890,705 votes. Yusuf rejected the tribunal’s ruling, terming it “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice,” and subsequently appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal.
