A Federal High Court in Kano has sacked all 44 chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) earlier cleared for today’s local government elections.
The court barred the candidates while ruling, Friday, in a case filed by Engr. Muhammad Babayo and a faction of the NNPP against the party’s leadership.
The trial high court judge, Justice Simon Amobeda however ordered the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) to accept a new list of candidates submitted by a faction of the NNPP led by the recognised State Chairman, Dalhatu Shehu Usman, in accordance with the party’s constitution.
“The defendant is hereby restrained from releasing the voters register for the 2nd Defendant to conduct the proposed election on 26th October 2024,” the judge declared.
He further instructed that KANSIEC must recognize the list of candidates submitted by the plaintiffs.
The case listed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), KANSIEC, the Inspector General of Police, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) as the defendants.
The judgment has thrown the local government elections into further controversy.
The court also barred security agencies from providing protection at the polling units if the election goes ahead without the updated candidates list.
“The 2nd Defendant is hereby directed to accept as genuine and subsisting the list of NNPP candidates submitted to it by the recognized State Chairman, Dalhatu Shehu Usman,” the judge ruled, adding that “any other list submitted for the 2024 Local Government Election in Kano State should be rejected.”
Court clears way for Kano LG polls, nullifies attempts to halt exercise
Meanwhile, the Kano State High Court has goven the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) the greenlight to proceed with the local government elections scheduled for Saturday (today), nullifying all attempts by political parties to stop the exercise.
Justice Sanusi Ma’aji, presiding over the case, ruled that KANSIEC is empowered by the Constitution to conduct, supervise, and oversee local government elections across the 44 local government areas (LGAs) in Kano State.
The case was brought by KANSIEC against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 13 other political parties.
In his ruling, Justice Ma’aji emphasised that any effort to obstruct the process would be deemed null and void.
“KANSIEC, under the provisions of the Constitution, is mandated to hold elections in the state. Any attempt to truncate this process is a nullity,” he said.
The judge also called on security agencies to ensure the protection of lives and property during the election.
“It is crucial that security agencies urgently provide the necessary protection to safeguard lives and properties during the conduct of the elections tomorrow,” he ordered.
This ruling comes after a Federal High Court in Kano, presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, on Tuesday halted the council elections, citing the alleged illegal constitution of KANSIEC.
However, the state high court’s ruling has now cleared the way for the polls to proceed as planned.
With this decision, Kano State is poised to conduct its long-awaited local government elections, with KANSIEC ready to carry out its constitutional mandate.
APC withdraws as KANSIEC insists on conducting LG polls in Kano
In another development, the Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. Sani Malumfashi, has announced the withdrawal of the All Progressives Congress from the upcoming Kano local government election.
This was as the chairman insisted that the commission is proceeding with the election following a State High Court ruling that directed the commission to conduct the election on Saturday.
Malumfashi made this known during a news conference on Friday.
“The main opposition party, which is the APC, has withdrawn from the election as they did not participate in any of the processes,” Malumfashi said.
He added that “The commission has completed all arrangements to conduct the election in the state on Saturday, in line with the ruling of a Kano State High Court on Friday.”
The KANSIEC chairman disclosed further that only six political parties are participating in the election including NNPP, ZLP, Accord Party, NRM, AAC and AA.
He insisted that the Commission is carrying out its activities under the ambits of the law, “every activity of the Commission is procedural. We are not partisan.”
He further urged KANSIEC staff and ad-hoc staff to resist any temptation of bribery and ensure that underage children are not allowed to vote.
Malumfashi also reminded politicians that vote-buying, thuggery and other forms of violence contravene the state electoral guidelines.
He maintained that all democrats and lovers of democracy expect that Friday’s Kano High Court judgment that gave a nod for the election to hold be respected.
Recall that a state high court had earlier on Friday upheld the powers of the State Independent Electoral Commission to conduct the Local Government elections as scheduled.
In his judgement, Justice Sanusi Ado Maaji stated that the Applicant had successfully proved their case.
 earlier cleared for today’s local government elections.){kind=link}