The Kano State governorship election petition tribunal has decided to withhold judgment in the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the victory of Abba Kabir Yusuf from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
The three-member panel, led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, assured all parties of fairness and pledged that the judgment would be delivered earlier than the 180-day period stipulated by the law.
The adjournment follows the completion of final addresses by all parties involved. The APC has urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and declare Nasir Gawuna as the winner of the election.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), NNPP, and Yusuf have called for the dismissal of the petition.Officials from the New Nigeria People’s Party-led (NNPP) Kano state government and leaders of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) have converged at the Kano State High Court, where the governorship election petition tribunal is conducting its penultimate session.
The tribunal had previously adjourned the hearing to Monday for the adoption of final written addresses regarding the petition filed by the APC against Governor Kabir Yusuf’s electoral victory.
However, during the prior session of Panel 1 of the Kano National and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, the panel’s chairperson, expressed concern about attempts by lawyers involved in cases before the panel to influence their decisions.
This situation led to a series of accusations and counter-accusations between the Kano state government and the APC. The government indirectly implicated the APC as the party offering bribes, while the APC accused the NNPP-led government of attempting to intimidate the judiciary due to an alleged weak defense of its case.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had also intervened by writing to the tribunal secretariat, seeking an audience with the judge to investigate the alleged bribery advances.
As proceedings resumed on Monday for the governorship elections petition tribunal, Kano state government officials, including the Secretary to the State Government, Baffa Bichi, and the Chief of Staff to the governor, Shehu Wada Sagagi, along with several commissioners and top aides of the governor, were observed at the tribunal.
Leaders of the APC, such as the party’s secretary, Zakari Sarina, and the publicity secretary, Muhammad Aruwa, were also present at the tribunal.
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