Kano State Government said it worried over the allegation of corrupt practice raised by Justice Flora Azinge of the election petition tribunal against undisclosed legal practitioners in the state.
Justice Azinge presently leading a penal of state and federal house of assembly petition in Kano, had alleged that some senior lawyers in the state had offered a judicial staff of the panel the sum of N10 million gift in an attempt to corrupt the administration of justice at the tribunal.
Reacting to the development on behalf of governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf, the Commissioner for Information Baba Halilu Dantiye said the ugly development is a pointer that strong forces ‘who are well-known’ for their corrupt attitude are working tirelessly to scuttle the hard-earned mandate of the people of Kano State.
The state government said it views the development as a litmus test for administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to show Nigerians the commitment to fighting corruption and defending democratic principles.
The government applauded the ingenuity of Justice Azinge for voicing out the atrocities at the open court noting that her boldness to challenge unwholesome act is a positive testimony that there is still hope in the Nigerian judiciary.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has written to the election tribunal demanding the identity of those senior lawyers attempting to corrupt the system.
A statement by Chairman NBA Kano branch, Barrister Sagir Sulaiman Gezawa, contended that unmasking the identify of those individuals behind the scene would help NBA to purge itself of general abuse.
According to Dantiye, “The Kano state government views the incidence with a great concern as there is a strong rumour going round that some strong forces within the APC whose eyes are on Kano Election Petition Tribunals are bent on repeating what they did in 2019. They are all out to use whatever means to sway justice as was done previously
