DOCUMENT: Appeal Court Confirms Abba Yusuf As Kano Governor, Sets Aside Tribunal’s Sacking

Patrick OdeyNovember 22, 2023

2 minutes read

The Court of Appeal has affirmed the victory of Abba Yusuf as the duly elected Governor of Kano State, setting aside the judgement of the election petition tribunal that sacked him.

The certified copy of the Appeal Court judgement, released on Tuesday, shows that the appellate court upheld the election of Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, in the March 25, 2023 governorship poll in Kano.

The Appeal Court judgement, signed by the registrar, Mr Jameel Ibrahim Umar, contradicts what the judges read to the public in the courtroom on November 17, 2023, when they dismissed the appeal filed by Governor Yusuf on the basis of his membership status and affirmed Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the election.

However, the written evidence indicates that the Appeal Court actually set aside the ruling of the Kano Governorship Election Tribunal which sacked Governor Yusuf and ordered the APC to pay him N1million. The court document, obtained by Newsflash Nigeria, states that the appeal court set aside the ruling of the election tribunal in the petition of the APC, PT/KN/GOV/01/2023, between the APC and the governor.

The court ruling, read by Justice Moore Aseimo Abraham Adumen, said, “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the 1st respondent and against the appellant. In the circumstances, I resolve all the issues in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent. Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed. The judgment of the tribunal in Petition No.: PT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between: ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 ORS. delivered on the 20th day of September, 2023 is hereby set aside. The sum of N1,000,000.00 (one million naira only) is hereby awarded as costs in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent.” It was signed by MOORE ASEIMO ABRAHAM ADUMEN, JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL.

Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the NNPP, was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the poll in March. The tribunal deducted 165,663 votes from Yusuf’s total as invalid votes, stating that the affected ballot papers were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.

The Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Haruna Dederi, who addressed journalists on Tuesday evening, said the certified copy of the judgement clearly vindicated Yusuf as the legitimate Governor of Kano State.

He expressed his disappointment with the judges who read a different verdict in the courtroom, saying that it was a travesty of justice and an attempt to subvert the will of the people. He called on the people of Kano to remain calm and peaceful, as the government would pursue the matter to the Supreme Court.

DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENT Of THE JUDGMENT IN YUSUF ABBA KABIR v. APC & ORS HERE:

JUDGMENT IN YUSUF ABBA KABIR v. APC & ORS