Court sacks all NNPP Candidates for Kano LG elections
A Federal High Court in Kano has disqualified all 44 New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidates for chairmanship and councillorship positions in the upcoming local government elections.
Despite this court ruling, the elections are still scheduled for Saturday. Justice Simon Amobeda issued the ruling following a lawsuit by Engineer Muhammad Babayo and a faction within the NNPP challenging the party’s current leadership.
As reported by Politics Nigeria, the court directed the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) to recognize a new list of candidates submitted by Dalhatu Shehu Usman, the recognized State Chairman of the NNPP.
Justice Amobeda further instructed security agencies to withhold protection at polling units if the election proceeds with the old list of candidates.
The case named the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), KANSIEC, the Inspector General of Police, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) as defendants.
In his ruling, Justice Amobeda stated, “The defendant is hereby restrained from releasing the voters register for the 2nd Defendant to conduct the proposed election on 26th October 2024.” He further ordered, “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,” adding that any other list should be rejected.
The judge also directed the police and DSS to refrain from providing security for the elections on October 26, 2024, if they proceed without compliance with this ruling.
