The reason for the heavy presence of the security men may not be unconnected to how Kano residents reacted to the tribunal decision on the same matter in September.
There is a heavy presence of Nigerian policemen and other security operatives at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday morning ahead of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition judgement.
The reason for the heavy presence of the security men may not be unconnected to how Kano residents reacted to the tribunal decision on the same matter in September.
The Independent National Electronic Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Yusuf winner of the March 18, 2023 election, after he garnered 1,019,602 votes to defeat Gawuna who got 890,705 of the votes cast.
But the APC approached the Tribunal, citing alleged electoral malpractice.
A three-man panel of judges led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay had sacked Yusuf on September 20, 2023, by declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid because they were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The governor’s votes were then reduced to 853,939 while Ganuwa’s 890,705 votes remained.
Yusuf had immediately rejected the tribunal verdict, which he described as “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice”, and headed to the appeal court.
Reacting, Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, had faulted the verdict of the tribunal.
He had noted that the voters should not be punished for the errors of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).