The Federal High Court in Kano has disqualified all 44 chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from participating in the local government elections scheduled for October 26, 2024.
The ruling was handed down by Justice Simon Amobeda on Friday, following a lawsuit filed by Engineer Muhammad Babayo and a faction of the NNPP against the party’s leadership. The court determined that the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) must accept a new list of candidates submitted by the faction led by Dalhatu Shehu Usman, the party’s recognized State Chairman, as per the NNPP’s constitution.
Justice Amobeda explicitly restrained KANSIEC from releasing the voters’ register for the elections based on the current candidate list, stating, “The defendant is hereby restrained from releasing the voters register for the 2nd Defendant to conduct the proposed election on 26th October 2024.”
The court further mandated that KANSIEC must acknowledge the candidate list submitted by the plaintiffs, while rejecting any alternate lists for the local government elections. This decision has added to the ongoing controversy surrounding the elections.
In a broader context, the case included the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), KANSIEC, the Inspector General of Police, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) as defendants. Justice Amobeda also directed that security agencies, including the police and DSS, be prohibited from providing protection at polling units unless the updated candidate list is implemented.
“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 ruling stated.
