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BREAKING: Appeal Court sacks Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the earlier ruling of the tribunal, leading to the removal of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State from office.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has been sacked by Tribunal. [Daily Trust]
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has been sacked by Tribunal. [Daily Trust]

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the earlier ruling of the tribunal, leading to the removal of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State from office.

A three-member panel of the court held that the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) breached the constitution by sponsoring Yusuf who was not a member of the party.

Recall, the tribunal, presided over by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, had on September 20, 2023, declared Yusuf's victory invalid due to the invalidation of 165,663 votes.

The tribunal had determined that the votes, which belonged to Yusuf of the NNPP, were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

As a result, the governor's votes were reduced to 853,939, while his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, Nasir Ganuwa, maintained his tally at 890,705.

Governor Yusuf, who contested the tribunal's decision, described it as "unfair" and "a miscarriage of justice."

The legal battle moved to the Court of Appeal, where Wole Olanipekun, SAN, lead counsel for Yusuf, sought to set aside the tribunal's judgment.

Olanipekun argued against the tribunal's decision to annul the election over the non-signing of the back of ballot papers, stating that it was unprecedented in electoral history.

However, Akin Olujimi SAN, representing the APC, countered Olanipekun's arguments, asserting that the Appeal Court explicitly deemed the non-signing of ballots as electoral malpractice.

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