Kano: Court shouldn’t be used to subvert the will of the people- Muhuyi

By Abdul Isah

Chairman, Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado, has described moves to unseat Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf as the duly elected Governor of the state through the instrumentality of the court as subverting the will of the people.

The anti-corruption boss made this known in an interview with an online media organization, DCL Hausa, which was monitored by SOLACEBASE.

It will be recalled that the court of appeal had on November 17th, 2023 sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and affirmed  Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the opposition All Progressives Congress as the winner of the March 18th governorship election in the state.

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In its ruling, the appellant court had among other things upheld the judgment of the state election petition tribunal that nullified Abba Kabir Yusuf.

The court also ruled that Governor Yusuf was not a member of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as of the time of the election.

Speaking on the court judgment, which has since been generating controversies, especially after the release of the Certified True Copy of the judgment that contradicted itself, Muhuyi, a lawyer himself, questioned legal practitioners to sight an example of a case where such a costly legal mistake was made.

Reacting to why NNPP and Governor Yusuf’s lawyers failed to challenge the legal proceeding when the 165,663 votes were brought in as evidence, he noted that to the best of his knowledge, only a few samples were presented in the court.

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“I have no idea that the votes in question were reviewed in the court as evidence, only a few samples were brought in.”

He reminded that Abba Kabir Yusuf was duly elected by the popular will of the people of Kano State, challenging the court’s judgment that canceled the votes in question.

“There is nowhere in the constitution or the electoral law of the country that gives anyone the right to cancel votes cast by eligible voters just because some ballot papers were not stamped.”

Barrister Muhuyi also recalled that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna had congratulated Governor Yusuf on winning the March 18th poll.

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He added that Gawuna did not file a suit challenging the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state, elaborating that as such, he cannot benefit from the ruling of the petition he was not part of.

According to the anti-graft Czar, in his Local Government alone, many arms-wielding thugs were arrested while trying to disrupt the electoral process during the elections but till today, none of them is prosecuted, by the Federal or State Government.