In the May, 2023 gubernatorial election national-wide conducted, Abba Kabir was the candidate ran for governorship beneath New Nigerian people’s Party NNPP in Kano who won with a huge and unprecedented margin 165,664 votes as a difference between two prominent contestant parties, APC and NNPP.
Over 165,664 illegal votes counted in favor of NNPP during the election which allegedly lacked makers indicators of authenticity of INEC, like date, a stamp and a signature which led to writing a petition against the winning party for using illegal votes during the gubernatorial election which led to win by fraud.
The petition election tribunal judgement was the shocking, surprising, and striking to many professional legal practitioners who saw the judgement carried so many errors and biases in the decision made by the court. This resulted to many of the innocent and statesmen’s bloods went high and high for seeing how partial judgment was done.
Views on the decision by legal practitioners stand that the appeal court must to restore the power to Abba Kabir Yusif who INEC was declared as the first winner of the election for following reasons:
Firstly, Kaduna State Tribunal Election Petition Judgement alerted that the Tribunal Court has no jurisdiction to cancel any votes which compliance with consent of INEC agents and others election official such as party agents, security agents etc. This shows Kano Tribunal Election petition Judgement failed to applied the same act or law which Kaduna Tribunal Court applied in making judgement.
secondly, In the INEC 2022 Act Section: 63 says ” If presiding officer satisfied with a vote which does not bear official mark was from a book of ballot paper which was furnished from the presiding officer of polling unit in which the vote was cast at the election count the ballot paper”. It’s apparently that before a unit election results pass to the compiling ward centre has to get legal approve by the parties agents.
Thirdly, In the petition wrote against victory of NNPP accused for using unauthorized and illegitimate votes has failed not meet proceeding of proof, “beyond reasonable doubt”, there was so many questions left like specification at which polling units the fraud made, where was their party agents then and the number of accusing votes for each polling units by the petitioners. on the other hand, in the election petition act, specification is mandatory to be presented against each polling accused for using illegal votes.
In addition, why other party cast votes remain untouched nevertheless it found with a large number of votes which lacked makers of indicators from the INEC official during review? This questionable to the legal practitioners and laymen, this resulted that the court decision was full of biases, partiality and personal in favour of APC. It’s undoubtedly, if law will put into place the victory will judicially manipulate to the NNPP.
Yakubu Nasiru Khalid
