Wednesday, in response to the dismissal of Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigerian People’s Party by the state’s Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, the state administration imposed a 24-hour curfew in order to prevent a breakdown in law and order.
As soon as the All Progressives Congress candidate, Nasir Gawuna, was declared the winner of the state’s March 2023 gubernatorial election by the three-member election tribunal presided over by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay on Wednesday, security was stepped up throughout Kano.
The curfew takes effect from 6 p.m. on Wednesday to 6 p.m. on Thursday (today), according to a statement issued by Mohammed Gumel, the state commissioner of police.
Announcing that those who disobeyed the order would be arrested and subject to the full force of the law, Gumel swore to enforce it strictly.
At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, to 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2023, he declared, “The state government has issued a 24-hour curfew order via letter with reference no: K/SEC/H/435/T.1/153 dated September 20, 2023.”
“The Kano State Police Command has mapped out strategies in that direction and called on the good people of the state to give the necessary confidence and support and in light of the constitutional mandate of the Nigeria Police Force alongside the relevant internal security and law enforcement agencies to preserve law and order in the state.
The people of Kano State are therefore notified that in order to guarantee the enforcement and strict observance of the curfew, combined security personnel have already been deployed to all corners of the state, including its entrances and exits. The full force of the law will be applied to anyone who violate it after they are apprehended.
The state’s peace-loving citizens are to be appreciated, Gumel continued, and they are urged to uphold the law because it is in everyone’s best interests to work together to keep the state legal and orderly.
Once Yusuf’s election as Kano State governor was declared void by the tribunal, locals raced home, prompting fearful traders to quickly lock up their stores in all of the major marketplaces and retail centres before the curfew was brought in.
A new certificate of return should be provided to Gawuna, and the court ordered Yusuf to remove his certificate of return.
Starting with the Miller Road site of the tribunal, the panel had transmitted the proceedings over Zoom.
Following the final arguments on August 21 on behalf of their respective clients, the attorneys for both parties delivered their rulings a few weeks later.
165,663 of the governor’s votes were declared void by the court.
Voter registration forms totaling 165,663 were deemed void by the judge because they were not validly signed and stamped.
With 1,019,602 votes, the NNPP defeated the APC, whose candidate received 890,705 votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission findings. And therefore, by a margin of 128,897 votes, the NNPP candidate prevailed.
At the tribunal, the APC, however, submitted a petition to contest the election body’s announced results.
The tribunal stated in its ruling that the party decides how to handle sponsorship and membership matters internally.
The acting National Chairman of the Nigerian People’s Party, Abba Ali, responded to the ruling by claiming that it was a reenactment of the 2019 governorship election, in which the tribunal had purportedly overturned the electorate’s desire and given the winning candidate the mandate.
The party pledged that the alleged biassed ruling would not stand, even as it urged millions of its supporters in the state and throughout the nation to remain composed and keep the peace.
The Kano State Election Petition Tribunal’s ruling on the March 18, 2023, governorship election is met with complete scepticism and disbelief by the New Nigeria People’s Party, according to Ali.
“The NNPP regretfully remembers that by overturning the will of the people and giving election results to those who lost, this tribunal has merely repeated the unholy script of 2019.”
“Our gubernatorial candidate, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, was declared the winner of the election by the APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, after the reported ruling annulled the free, credible, and internationally recognised election.”
According to the allegations, the tribunal rendered a decision that was deemed absurd and a miscarriage of justice by arbitrarily subtracting 165,663 of Yusuf’s votes and giving them to the APC candidate.
“The tribunal’s ruling is contemptuous of constitutionalism and the rule of law, and it may further erode public trust in the legal system.” According to the party, “The NNPP will appeal this egregiously unfair judgement.”
NNPP attorney Bashir Wada announced that his clients would file an appeal of the tribunal’s decision.
“We will consult with our clients after the tribunal renders its own decision, but rest assured that we will file an appeal against this ruling as we believe it fails to fairly represent the facts of the case. I can guarantee that this decision will be overturned on appeal,” he said.
“If you compare this decision to the one made by the Osun State tribunal, which allowed the tribunal to review a document that had been tendered before it even in the absence of evidence, it is not that new.” With God’s blessing, I pray that the Court of Appeal will not consider this ruling.
The ruling will be appealed, according to Ladipo Johnson, the NNPP Presidential Campaign Council’s spokesperson.
