Heavy security has been put in place around the Supreme Court of Nigeria Complex, located in the three arms zones of Abuja, in anticipation of the announcement of the Kano State governorship election appeal verdict.
The court will also deliver judgments in seven other states, including Lagos, Plateau, Bauchi, Abia, Ebonyi, Zamfara, and Cross River.
The court proceedings will begin at 9 a.m. and the verdict of the Kano and Plateau appeals is highly anticipated due to the lower courts having sacked the incumbent governors.
Security officials from regular and plain-clothed police units have been deployed to the court’s main entrance to prevent unauthorized movements of humans and vehicles into the premises.
Only lawyers and parties involved in the matter are permitted to enter the court premises. However, hundreds of supporters of the parties were seen trying to gain access to the premises.
Journalists were also reportedly having difficulty finding their way into the court premises.
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Abba Yusuf, the Kano state governor, and his party NNPP had filed an appeal against the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed his sacking as earlier pronounced by the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
The tribunal had sacked Yusuf and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw his certificate of return and instead issue it to Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
However, not satisfied with the Tribunal’s judgment, Yusuf approached the Appeal Court. But the appellate court had affirmed his sack, further holding that the governor was not a member of the party at the time of the election and therefore could not have been said to have been properly sponsored for the election.
In the case of Plateau, Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s election was upheld by the Plateau State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Jos. However, the appeal court overturned his victory and declared Nentawe Goshwe of the APC the winner of the election.
The court ruled that the failure of the PDP to comply with the order of the Plateau State High Court in Jos, directing it to conduct valid ward, local governments, and state congress elections, invalidated the primary election that produced Mutfwang as the party’s candidate.
