One of the lawyers representing the Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led group in the Kano All Progressives Congress (APC) legal battle has said a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) did not rule against the camp of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Reacting to the reports on the crisis, Barrister Abdullahi Adamu Fagge, told Daily Trust that the facts before the court on Thursday were misconstrued to mean a defeat of the Ganduje-led group.
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He explained that what the court, presided over by Justice Hamza Muazu did was to agree with the argument of the Ganduje-led group that the high court no longer had jurisdiction to rule or hear the applications before it as the matter had been taken over by the Court of Appeal.
Fagge said two matters were before the court on Thursday, namely: ruling on an application to set aside the judgment of the court on the ward congress and hearing of applications for stay of execution of the two judgments (for ward and local government congresses).
“When we got to court today (Thursday), before the delivery of the ruling in respect of setting aside of the judgment and hearing of the applications for stay of execution, we informed the court that the appeal has been filed in respect of the two judgments and the records of proceeding of the court has been transmitted to the court of appeal.
“With this, we informed the court that it had no jurisdiction to entertain any further application or to deliver any ruling in respect of the matter, the court of appeal being seized of the matter and we urged the court to decline jurisdiction.
“The court agreed with us (the applicant) and declined jurisdiction. The court did not give any ruling on the application to set aside the ward congress judgment because it agreed it no longer have jurisdiction.”
Fagge further explained that as for the two applications for stay of execution that were supposed to be heard, “the court also agreed that it cannot hear the applications and on the basis that he has no jurisdiction, the judge struck out the applications.”
He said they are still waiting to get a date before the Court of Appeal where they have confidence the earlier judgments will be set aside.
However, counsel for the Shekarau group, Nureini Jimoh (SAN), insisted that it was victory for his clients, counterclaiming that it was one of his lawyers, Barrister Abubakar Ahmad, that called the attention of the court to pendency of the appeal before the Court of Appeal.
He said it was based on this information that the court declined jurisdiction and struck out all the applications of the Ganduje-led group.
