By Olusegun Olanrewaju, with agency report
There is tension in Kano State following the judgement of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
It was learnt that there was apprehension in the state following the judgement that declared Nasir Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the elections.
Residents were seen scampering and running to close their shops and business places for fear of attacks by hoodlums.
The state witnessed several looting, vandalisation, and arson in March after Governor Yusuf was declared the winner of the elections.
Following the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Usaini Gumel, declared a 24-hour curfew.
In a statement he signed, Gumel said a combined team of security operatives had been dispatched across the city to enforce the curfew.
“Given the constitutional mandate of the Nigeria Police Force alongside the relevant internal security and law enforcement agencies to preserve law and order in the state, the Kano State Police Command have mapped out strategies in that direction and call on the good people of the State to give the necessary confidence and supports.
“Going forward, Kano State residents are called upon to note that combined Security Forces have already been dispatched to the nooks and crannies including the entry and exits of the State to ensure enforcement and strict compliance with the 24-hour curfew order as communicated by the State Government via letter with Reference No: K/SEC/H/435/T.1/153 dated 20th September 2023 taking effect from 6pm of Wednesday, 20th September to 6pm of Thursday, 21st September 2023.
“Finally, I wish to appreciate all the peace-loving People of the State and urge them to remain law abiding as it’s in the best interest of all that we come together to maintain law and order in the State,” he said.
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*Tribunal delivers judgement via Zoom, invalidates over 165,000 NNPP votes, declares APC’s Gawuna winner
Earlier, the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal nullified the election of Governor Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
It declared APC’s Gawuna as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.
Delivering judgement through Zoom, the three-man panel, led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, held that APC and Yusuf-Gawuna proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt with substantial documentary evidence of over-voting.
According to the tribunal, “165,663 invalid votes were wrongly credited to Kabir-Yusuf, and the election was not conducted in compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act. Some of the ballot papers were neither signed nor stamped.”
It held that after the deduction of valid votes scored by the candidates, Yusuf-Gawuna scored 890,000, while Kabir-Yusuf polled 853,926 votes.
The tribunal held also that Kabir-Yusuf was not even a member of the NNPP, 30 days before the party’s primary election as stipulated by the Electoral Act and was, therefore, not competent to contest.
“The position of the law is that a candidate must be a bona fide member of a political party before he is allowed to contest an election.
“The petitioners have proved their case of over-voting, violence, vandalism of ballot papers, and disenfranchisement of voters,” the tribunal chairman declared.
The tribunal ordered INEC to withdraw Kabir-Yusuf’s Certificate of Return and issue the same to APC’s Yusuf-Gawuna as the duly elected governor of Kano State.
Yusuf-Gawuna and the APC headed to the tribunal to challenge INEC’s declaration of Kabir-Yusuf as the winner of the said election.
Respondents in the petition were INEC, Kabir-Yusuf, and the NNPP.
INEC had earlier declared Kabir-Yusuf the winner of the poll and credited him with 1,019,602 votes against Yusuf-Gawuna’s 890,705 votes.
Yusuf-Gawuna called 32 witnesses to testify in his favour, while INEC closed its case without presenting any witnesses.
On the other hand, Kabir-Yusuf called only his Secretary to the State Government, Dr Abdullahi Baffa-Bichi, as a witness.
His party, the NNPP did not call any witnesses.
Yusuf-Gawuna had also prayed the tribunal to declare that NNPP had no candidate in the election as Kabir-Yusuf was not on the register of party members submitted to INEC at the time of the election.
*In Bauchi, tribunal affirms Bala Mohammed’s election
In Bauchi, the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has affirmed the victory of Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18th governorship election held in the state.
The tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
It held that there was no strong reason to nullify the election as the election was conducted in compliance with the law.
The judgement was delivered by a three-man panel chaired by Justice P.T Kwahar.
INEC had in March declared that Mohammed polled 525,280 to beat his closest rival and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Air Marshal Abubakar who polled 432,272.
