Supreme Court Upholds Abba Yusuf As Duly Elected Kano Governor

isaac aregbesola
Jan, Fri, 2024

Judiciary

Supreme Court upholds Abba Yusuf as duly elected Kano governor

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By Ebere Agozie

The apex court set aside the verdicts of the Court of Appeal and election petitions tribunal, which nullified the victory of Yusuf in the March 18, 2023 governorship poll.

A five-member panel of the apex court in a judgment delivered by Justice John Okoro, held that the tribunal and the court of appeal erred by sacking Yusuf, candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), as governor of the state.

Justice Okoro, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the law and natural justice were turned upside down by the two courts below to arrive at the unjust and unfair decision.

Okoro, while voiding and setting aside judgments of the two lower courts said that miscarriage of justice in the ways and manners the petition against the governor was handled was manifesting.

The Court of Appeal and the Tribunal had in their concurrent judgments annulled the election of Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Party, (APC) as winner of the March 18, 2023 Kano Governorship election.

However, the Supreme Court held that two major fundamental flaws were discovered in the findings of the Tribunal and the Count of Appeal which led to the miscarriage of justice.

Okoro added that the allegations of the APC that the Governor was not a member of the NNPP at the time he stood for the election and which the Tribunal used to overturn his victory is against the provisions of the law.

He held that membership of the NNPP by the governor cannot be challenged by APC on the ground of being internal affairs of the party.

“The issue of party membership cannot be raised as a post election matters as done by the APC and its governorship candidate and wrongly upheld by the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

“The Governor’s nomination was submitted to INEC in an NNPP letter head paper jointly signed by the party’ national Chairman and national Secretary.

“No member of the NNPP had queried the action except the APC in its petition before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal”.

The Apex Court also reversed the unlawful removal of 165, 616 votes from the total votes cast for the NNPP and its governorship candidate at the poll.

The court said that there was no basis for the unlawful removal of the votes from the governor’s votes because the ballot papers used for the poll were duly issued by the INEC.

The apex court dismissed the allegations that the ballot papers were not signed and stamped at the back

Okoro said that there was no scintillating of evidence from any witness or documentary exhibits that the ballot papers were illegal and unlawful as erroneously concluded by the Court of Appeal

The apex court, therefore, agreed with the governor that miscarriage of justice was perpetrated against him in the ways and manners his election was nullified.

Okoro ordered that the 165, 616 votes unlawfully deducted from the governor be returned to him.

The Apex Court while allowing the appeal of the governor and the NNPP dismissed the two judgments earlier granted in favour of the APC and its governorship candidate on the ground that the judgments were erroneously entered in their favour.

NAN reports that Yusuf , and his party NNPP, had filed an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed his sacking as earlier pronounced by the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

The tribunal had sacked Yusuf and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw his certificate of return and instead issue same to to Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.

However, not satisfied with the Tribunal judgment, Yusuf had approached the Appeal Court.

But the appellate court had while affirming his sack, further held that the governor was not a member of the party as of the time of the election and could not have been said to have been properly sponsored for the election.(NAN)
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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

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