Kano gov loses bid to halt Tribunal ruling

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an interlocutory application by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, seeking to set aside the ruling of the Kano State Elections Petitions Tribunal.

The panel of justices comprising Justices Obande Ogbuiya, Williams Daudu and Ridwan Abdullahi on Thursday held that Yusuf’s application brought against the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and two others as “frivolous and vexatious”.

Abba Kabir Yusuf had appealed against a subpoena granted to a witness Dr Aminu Idiris Harbau, to testify before the tribunal, insisting that the court had erred in its decision.

In the six grounds of appeal by counsel to Governor Yusuf, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) argued that the judges of the election tribunal erred in law when they granted the application of the APC on leave to call a subpoenaed witness, Dr. Aminu Idris Harbau, against the clear provision of paragraph 4(5) of the first schedule of the Electoral Act, 2022.

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Yusuf further alleged that the judges of the tribunal erred in law when they refused, failed and neglected to consider as required by law his submission on the interpretation of a provision of the Electoral Act, 2022 in arriving at the decision, thereby denying him the right to fair hearing.

The governor also alleged that the tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay erred in law when they granted the application of APC when there was no prayer for an extension of time to exercise its power in granting the application.

The APC and its candidate, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna had filed the petition challenging INEC’s declaration of Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as winner of the March 18 governorship election.