In a surprising turn of events, the Federal High Court in Kano has disqualified all 44 chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the upcoming local government elections scheduled for Saturday.
Justice Simon Amobeda issued the ruling on Friday in response to a case filed by Engineer Muhammad Babayo and a faction of the NNPP, which contested the legitimacy of the party’s leadership in candidate selection.
The court ordered the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) to accept a revised list of candidates submitted by the faction led by Dalhatu Shehu Usman, the recognized chairman of the NNPP in the state.
This ruling highlights significant internal disputes within the party regarding candidate endorsements and could significantly impact the NNPP’s ability to compete in the elections.
“The defendant is hereby restrained from releasing the voters register for the 2nd Defendant to conduct the proposed election on 26th October 2024,” the judge declared.
He further instructed that KANSIEC must recognize the list of candidates submitted by the plaintiffs.
The case listed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), KANSIEC, the Inspector General of Police, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) as the defendants.
The judgment has thrown the local government elections into further controversy. The court also barred security agencies from providing protection at the polling units if the election goes ahead without the updated candidate list.
“The 2nd Defendant is hereby directed to accept as genuine and subsisting the list of NNPP candidates submitted to it by the recognized State Chairman, Dalhatu Shehu Usman,” the judge ruled, adding that “any other list submitted for the 2024 Local Government Election in Kano State should be rejected.”
In addition, Justice Amobeda instructed the 3rd and 4th defendants—namely, the Inspector General of Police and the DSS—not to provide security for the election under the current arrangement.
“That the 3rd and 4th Defendants are forthwith restrained from providing security and protection to the scene of the Election plans to take place on the 26th October, 2024,” the court ruled.
