The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set Friday, November 17, 2023 as the date for its decision in the appeal filed by Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) against the verdict of the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which declared All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate Nasiru Gawuna as the rightful winner of the March 18 governorship election in the State.
According to a top Kano State government source, the Appellate Court officially informed all parties involved in the case of the development.
Remember that on September 20, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Election Tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay fired Yusuf by ruling 165,663 of his votes invalid because the ballot papers “were not signed or stamped by INEC.”
Yusuf had called the tribunal’s decision “unfair” and a “miscarriage of justice.”
Governor Yusuf and his NNPP party, as well as the opposition APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), are among the parties named in the complaint.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Police Command has already increased security in the state by deploying more policemen to strategic locations throughout the state capital to prevent a breakdown in law and order.
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The police have also prohibited political gatherings and warned of possible “preparation for violent processions, protests, or celebrations that may elicit reactions.”
Usaini Gumel, the Police Commissioner, who promised people of adequate protection both before and after the verdict, cautioned locals against making unguarded statements or engaging in violent protests or celebrations that could incite reactions in the commercial metropolis.
