Kano: Heavy security as NNPP, APC bigwigs storm tribunal amid bribery allegation

Senior officials of the New Nigeria People’s Party-led (NNPP) Kano state government and leaders of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) have stormed the Kano State High Court where the state’s governorship election petition tribunal is having its penultimate session.

Daily Trust reports that the tribunal had adjourned sitting to Monday for the adoption of final written addresses in a petition filed by the APC against the electoral victory of Governor Kabir Yusuf.

However, last week during the sitting of Panel 1 of the Kano National and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, the chairman of the panel, Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, raised an alarm about what she described as a disturbing development wherein lawyers with cases before the panel were reaching out to her and members of her panel in order to influence their decisions.

This had led to a flurry of accusations and counter-accusations between the two parties with the Kano state government indirectly referring to the APC as the giver of the bribe while the APC said the NNPP-led government was trying to intimidate the judiciary because of alleged poor defence of its case.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had also written to the tribunal secretariat to seek for an audience with the judge with the aim of unmasking those allegedly making the bribery advances.

But at the resumed hearing of the governorship elections petition tribunal on Monday, government officials including the Secretary to the State Government, Baffa Bichi, the Chief of Staff to the governor, Shehu Wada Sagagi and several commissioners and top aides of the state governor were seen at the tribunal.

Also leaders of the APC including the secretary of the party, Zakari Sarina and the publicity secretary of the party, Muhammad Aruwa, were also at the tribunal.

As of the time of filing this report, police officers had blocked all access to the court.