Protest Rocks Kano Over Appeal Court Verdict Sacking Governor Yusuf

Protests have rocked Kano State after the sacking of Governor Abba Yusuf by an Appeal Court.

This was as police dispersed protesters along the Dan Agundi area of the state on Wednesday.

The fresh protests is as a result of the Certified True Copy of the judgement which appeared in public domain and looked contrary to the verdict of the appellate court.

Some of the protesters stated that they were set to die as they demanded justice.

Police authorities in Kano had promised to clamp down on any group protesting in the state following the sacking of the governor.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in March 2023 declared Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the winner of the poll but the state governorship election petitions tribunal sacked him in September.

Months after the development, the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision. It maintained that Yusuf was not in the NNPP’s register, making him unqualified to contest the election. The court declared the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nasiru Gawuna as the winner of the poll in a move that has caused tensions in the North-West state.

In the previous week, the appellate court sacked three governors that INEC declared as winners in the March 2023 poll. All the three governors sacked by the appellate court are in opposition parties.

In Zamfara, the appellate court sacked Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when it declared the poll inconclusive about eight months later. The court ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election in three local government areas of the state. PDP’s Lawal and APC’s Bello Matawalle are the major contenders in the race.

On Sunday, the appellate court sacked PDP’s Caleb Mutfwang in Plateau State and ordered INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to APC’s Nentawe Goshwe. The court held that the party violated the court order that a valid congress be conducted in the 17 local government areas of that state.