A Federal High Court in Kano has delivered a ruling that disqualifies all 44 chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from participating in Saturday’s local government elections in Kano State.
Justice Simon Amobeda issued the ruling on Friday in response to a legal challenge brought forward by Muhammad Babayo and a faction of the NNPP contesting the party’s leadership structure.
In his judgment, Justice Amobeda directed the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) to recognize and accept only candidates nominated by the faction led by Dalhatu Usman, the court-recognized state chairman of the party.
“The 2nd Defendant is hereby directed to accept as genuine and subsisting the list of NNPP candidates submitted to it by the recognized State Chairman, Dalhatu Shehu Usman,” Justice Amobeda declared, emphasizing that “any other list submitted for the 2024 Local Government Election in Kano State should be rejected.”
The court’s decision included several crucial directives, with the judge ordering that “the defendant is hereby restrained from releasing the voters register for the 2nd Defendant to conduct the proposed election on 26th October 2024.”
In a move that could potentially impact the conduct of the elections, the court also issued restrictions regarding security arrangements. “That the 3rd and 4th Defendants are forthwith restrained from providing security and protection to the scene of the Election plans to take place on the 26th October, 2024,” the ruling stated.
The case named several key institutions as defendants, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), KANSIEC, the Inspector General of Police, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The Explainer learned the ruling follows an earlier court decision that removed the KANSIEC chairman, Sani Malumfashi, from office over allegations of partisan conduct, adding another layer of complexity to the electoral process in Kano State.
