JUST-IN: Police, Protesters Clash Over Appeal Court Verdict On Kano Guber Seat

Supporters of the Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, on Wednesday, clashed with Policemen in Kano metropolis.

The development followed the dispersal of the governor’s supporters along the Dan Agundi area of the state capital. They had trooped out to observe a special prayer against the backdrop of the political situation in the state and in solidarity with Governor Yusuf.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had on Friday affirmed the judgement of the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which sacked Governor Yusuf of the NNPP and instead declared his closest challenger and APC candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, as the rightful winner of the March 18 governorship election in the State.

The situation, which has degenerated into a protest, followed the revelation that the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Appeal Court judgement affirmed the election of Governor Yusuf contrary to pronouncement of the Appellate Court.

Some of the protesters said they were ready to die as they demanded justice.

Police authorities in Kano State had vowed to clamp down on any group protesting in the state following the verdict on the governorship seat.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in March 2023 declared Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the winner of the poll but the state governorship election petitions tribunal sacked him in September.

Months after the development, the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision. It held that Yusuf was not in the NNPP’s register, making him unqualified to contest the election. The court declared the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nasiru Gawuna as the winner of the poll in a move that has caused tension in the North-West state.