A heavy contingent of Nigerian policemen and other security operatives have been deployed at the Court of Appeal in Abuja ahead of the judgement on the Kano State Governorship Election Petition.
The heightened security is believed to be a preemptive measure in anticipation of potential unrest following the verdict, similar to the reactions that erupted in Kano after the tribunal’s decision on the same matter in September.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election, awarding him 1,019,602 votes to his main challenger, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who received 890,705 votes.
However, the APC disputed the election results and filed a petition at the tribunal, alleging widespread electoral malpractice. On September 20, a three-member panel of judges led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay ruled in favour of the APC, invalidating 165,663 of Yusuf’s votes due to a lack of signatures or stamps from INEC officials. This reduced Yusuf’s vote count to 853,939, placing him behind Gawuna, who retained his original tally of 890,705 votes.
Yusuf rejected the tribunal’s ruling, terming it “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice,” and subsequently appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal.
