The appeal filed by Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, challenging the verdict of the Court of Appeal and the State Election Petitions Tribunal, which removed him from office, has had its judgement reserved by the Supreme Court.
The five-member panel, led by Justice John Okoro, reserved the judgement after the parties presented their brief of arguments. During the proceedings, Justice Okoro urged the counsels involved to reach a consensus on which appeals and cross-appeals should be heard, with the outcome being binding on the remaining appeals.
All parties agreed to prioritize the main appeal, while the cross-appeals, including the one questioning Abba Yusuf’s membership, would abide by the outcome. The counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmoud, argued that the key witness whose testimony led to the deduction of 165,616 votes from Yusuf’s total was not admissible as it was not front-loaded with the main petition at the Tribunal. Mahmoud also stated that the contested ballot papers were authentic and originated from INEC.
He emphasized that it is the responsibility of a party agent, not the voter, to check if a ballot paper is signed, stamped, and dated. Furthermore, Mahmoud informed the court that the recounting of votes was conducted privately at the tribunal chambers after the deduction of the contested votes.
He stated that even when they were brought to the Court of Appeal, they were not demonstrated, according to him.
INEC’s representative also informed the panel of the apex court that only a portion of the illegal ballots were examined during the tribunal proceedings.
Mahmoud clarified that he is impartial, except when it comes to the correct interpretation of the law.
Regarding Yusuf’s membership in the New Nigeria’s Peoples Party (NNPP), he stated that it is an internal matter of the concerned political party and not for an external body, citing previous decisions of the apex court.
He added that the issue is not a constitutional matter, as claimed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which relied on Section 177(c) of the Constitution, as amended, and Section 77 of the Electoral Act.
Mahmoud criticized the practice of political parties using the Court as an “arena” to secure victory after the voters have already made their decision.
He informed the apex court that the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) submitted Abba Yusuf’s name as its candidate for the governorship election, and if the APC had any objections to Yusuf’s candidacy, they should have raised them after INEC published the names of candidates.
Governor Yusuf’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun, disputed the nullification of his electoral victory on the grounds that the INEC presiding officer failed to sign or stamp the ballot papers.
Olanipekun argued that this issue has nothing to do with the Electoral Act and insisted that it is based on INEC’s guidelines, which are not sufficient grounds to declare the votes unlawful and nullify the election.
Furthermore, Olanipekun informed the court that, based on the evidence provided by an expert witness during the Tribunal stage, only around 1,800 ballots were not signed or stamped, which he deemed insignificant figures and therefore insufficient to invalidate the election.
Yusuf’s membership in the party is an internal matter, and therefore the courts do not have the authority to decide on the party’s choice of candidate. Olanipekun requested the court to overturn the Appeal Court’s decision, which upheld the tribunal’s ruling to remove the governor from office.
The APC’s counsel, Akin Olujimi, argued that Section 177(c) of the Constitution is crucial in determining the Kano matter, and since it is a constitutional issue, the court has jurisdiction to decide on it.
On November 13, the Court of Appeal upheld the tribunal’s verdict. The Appeal Court agreed with the tribunal’s judgment, stating that Abba Yusuf’s candidacy violated the Electoral Law, making him ineligible to contest the election.
In September, the tribunal nullified Yusuf’s victory in the March 18 governorship election, and confirmed Nasiru Gawuna of the APC as the duly elected governor of Kano.
Wole Olanipekun contended that this issue is not related to the Electoral Act, but rather to INEC’s guidelines. He argued that this alone is not sufficient grounds to declare the votes unlawful and nullify the election.
Olanipekun further informed the court that, according to an expert witness during the Tribunal stage, only around 1,800 ballots were not signed or stamped. He claimed that these figures are insignificant and therefore inadequate to invalidate the election.
