The Nigerian Supreme Court has reinstated Yusuf Abba Kabiru of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the duly elected Kano State governor.
The apex court dismissed the petition instituted against Yusuf by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna.
The Supreme Court on Friday reversed the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of the governor.
Justice John Inyang Okoro, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the law and natural justice were turned upside down by the two lower courts to arrive at the unjust and unfair decision.
The Court of Appeal and the Tribunal had in their concurrent judgments annulled the election of Governor Kabiru Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and declared Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Party (APC) as winner of the March 18, 2023 Kano governorship election.
Also read: Elections: Two Nigerian Governors unease over awaited Supreme Court’s verdicts
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 a miscarriage of justice.
Justice Okoro said that the allegation of the APC that the governor was not a member of the NNPP at the time he stood for the election, which the Tribunal used to overturn his victory, is against the provisions of the law.
The apex court held that membership of the NNPP by the governor cannot be challenged by the APC as it is an internal affair of the party.
Justice Okoro further held that 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 apex court found that the governor’s nomination was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in an NNPP letter head paper jointly signed by the party’s national chairman and national secretary.
Justice Okoro also held that since the nomination, no member of the NNPP had queried the action except the APC in its petition before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Besides, the apex court reversed the unlawful removal of 165,616 votes from the total votes cast for the NNPP and its governorship candidate in the poll.
The court said that there was no basis for the unlawful removal of the votes because the ballot papers used for the poll were duly issued by INEC.
The apex court dismissed the allegation that the ballot papers were not signed and stamped at the back.
Justice Okoro said that there was no evidence from any witness or documentary exhibits that the ballot papers were illegal and unlawful as erroneously concluded by the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court, therefore, agreed with the governor that miscarriage of justice was perpetrated against him in the ways and manners his election was nullified.
Justice Okoro ordered that the 165, 616 votes unlawfully deducted from the governor be returned to him.
The Supreme 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 grounds that the judgments were erroneously entered in their favour.
Sowore jabs APC
Meanwhile, a well known Nigerian human rights activist and the AAC presidential candidate during the 2023 presidential election, Mr Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to Friday’s Supreme Court judgement on the 2023 Kano State Governorship Election.
While reacting, Omoyele Sowore made it known that the Supreme Court decided to affirm Kano State for NNPP, not because they wanted to do so, but because they dread the consequences.
Mr Omoyele Sowore made this disclosure in a post he made on his official X handle on Friday, shortly after the Supreme Court’s judgement on Kano State Governorship Election.
He wrote: “They’ve affirmed Kano for NNPP not because they wanted to, but because they dread the consequences! #RevolutionNow #NoGreeForAnybodyView pictures i
