Fresh Protest Breaks Out in Kano Over Appeal Court Judgment

Protesters are currently on the streets of Kano over the sacking of Governor Abba Yusuf by the Appeal Court.

Two weeks ago, the appeal court panel upheld the verdict of the tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay which sacked Yusuf on September 20, 2023.

The lower court had declared 165,663 votes of Yusuf, who contested under the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), invalid on the grounds that they were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The governor’s votes were then reduced to 853,939 while those of Nasir Ganuwa, his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, remained at 890,705.

Yusuf had rejected the tribunal verdict, which he described as “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice”, and headed to the appeal court, which also ruled in favour of his opponent.

After the appeal court judgment, there was tension in Kano as different groups fixed protests but security operatives prevented some of them from going ahead with the demonstrations to prevent break down of law and order.

However, on Monday, there were protests in different parts of the state before police dispersed them.

Security operatives trued to disperse them, but the protesters stood their ground as they kept grouping and regrouping.

The Police have warned Kano residents to shun any plan for public procession or protest, especially with regards to the Appeal Court judgement.