Police declare 24-hour curfew as tribunal fires Kano gov

After the state’s Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed New Nigerian People’s Party governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Kano State administration on Wednesday imposed a 24-hour curfew to prevent a breakdown in law and order.

The All Progressives Congress candidate, Nasir Gawuna, was declared the winner of the state’s March 2023 gubernatorial election by the three-member election tribunal presided over by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay. This led to heightened security throughout Kano’s metropolis on Wednesday.

The curfew order was verified by Mohammed Gumel, the state commissioner of police, who said in a statement that it was in place from Wednesday at 6 p.m. until Thursday at 6 p.m. (today).

Gumel threatened to arrest those who disobeyed the order and subject them to the full force of the law, vowing to enforce strict adherence to it.
“The state government has communicated a 24-hour curfew order via letter with reference no: K/SEC/H/435/T.1/153 dated September 20, 2023,” he stated. The curfew will be in place from Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 6 p.m., to Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 6 p.m.

“The Kano State Police Command has mapped out strategies in that direction and called on the good people of the state to give the necessary confidence and support, in light of the Nigeria Police Force’s constitutional mandate to preserve law and order in the state alongside the relevant internal security and law enforcement agencies.

Residents of Kano State are urged to be aware that, in order to guarantee the rigorous enforcement of the curfew, joint security forces have already been deployed to all corners of the state, including its entrances and exits. Violators will be taken into custody and exposed to the full force of the law.
Gumel continued, “Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to all of the state’s peace-loving citizens and to encourage them to continue abiding by the law since it is in everyone’s best interests that we work together to uphold law and order in the state.

Concerned vendors hastily closed their doors in the main marketplaces and retail centres before to the curfew, as locals headed home after the tribunal declared Yusuf’s election as Kano State governor to be void.

The court directed that Gawuna receive a fresh certificate of return and ordered Yusuf to revoke his original one.

The panel has started using Zoom to broadcast the proceedings from the tribunal’s Miller Road location.

Weeks after the attorneys on both sides presented their closing arguments on August 21 on behalf of their clients, the decision was rendered.

The court declared the governor’s 165,663 votes to be void.

The judge declared that the 165,663 voters’ ballots were invalid since they were not signed and stamped.
The APC’s nominee received 890,705 votes, but the NNPP received 1,019,602 votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission. Consequently, the NNPP candidate prevailed by a margin of 128,897 votes.

To contest the results announced by the electoral board, the APC, however, submitted an appeal to the judiciary.

The tribunal stated in its ruling that the party’s internal affairs handle sponsorship and membership matters.

The NNPP’s interim National Chairman, Abba Ali, responded to the ruling by claiming that it was a rewrite of the 2019 governorship election, in which the tribunal had purportedly nullified the electorate’s mandate and given it to the loser.

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As it urged millions of its followers in the state and across to keep calm and keep the peace, the party said that the purportedly unfair ruling would not stand.

“The New Nigeria People’s Party receives the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal’s ruling on the March 18, 2023, governorship election with utter incredulity and disbelief,” Ali stated.

“With regret, the NNPP remembers that this tribunal has merely reversed the will of the people and granted election results to the losing candidates, thereby reproducing the unholy script of 2019.”

“The reported judgement voids our governorship candidate, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, who boldly gave the election to APC candidate Nasiru Gawuna, despite it being a free, credible, and widely recognised fair election.”

Claiming that the tribunal arbitrarily subtracted Yusuf’s votes by 165,663 and gave them to the APC candidate, it labelled the decision as absurd and a miscarriage of justice.

The tribunal’s ruling is a slap in the face of constitutionalism and the rule of law, and it may further erode public trust in the legal system. The party declared, “The NNPP will appeal this egregiously unfair judgement.”

Bashir Wada, the NNPP’s attorney, announced that his clients would file an appeal of the tribunal’s decision.

“The tribunal has delivered its own judgement. We will consult with our clients, and I can assure you that we will appeal against this judgement because we felt it did not reflect the fairness of the situation. I can assure you that this decision will be overturned on appeal,” he said.

The Osun State tribunal’s ruling, which is nearly identical to this one in that it permits the tribunal to review a document that was brought before it even in the absence of proof, is not new. By God’s grace, I can guarantee that the Court of Appeal will not consider this ruling.

The NNPP Presidential Campaign Council’s spokesperson, Ladipo Johnson, added that the party would file an appeal of the decision.