Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Democracy has alleged that the Kwankwasiyya Movement supporting Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State have planned to occupy the Supreme Court premises and foreign missions in the country.
Governor Yusuf and his political party, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), had approached the Supreme Court over the Appeal Court’s verdict, which affirmed the State Election Petitions Tribunal’s judgement on the March 18 governorship election in the state.
The appellate court had sacked Governor Yusuf from office and affirmed the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, as the rightful winner of the March 18 governorship election.
At a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, the coalition called on the Supreme Court Justices not to be intimidated by the threat of the red-cap wearing Kwankwasiyya group as the majority of Kano people are in support of the earlier verdicts of the tribunal and the Appeal Court.
The coalition’s national secretary, Otunba Eniola Enaife, who addressed journalists asked the Inspector General of Police to arrest the NNPP presidential candidate in the last general election, Rabiu Kwankwaso for allegedly maligning the image of President Bola Tinubu and the judiciary.
According to Enaife, since the Appeal Court pronouncement, the NNPP- led Kano State government through the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Kwankwaso has vowed to “invite hell to Kano.”
He said, “Kwankwaso, a former defence minister and red-cap wearing Kwankwasiyya group is on a mission to destroy…through his foot soldiers. The plan is to destroy the image of the country while blackmailing the judiciary.
“Kwankwaso want to blackmail the President using his proxies. He has assembled people to insult the President on daily basis, thereby destroying his image before the world.
“The Kwankwasiyya leader is on a mission to revenge his failed attempt to join President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. It is not a secret that Kwankwaso lobbied the President through all means to reap where he did not sow before Tinubu formed his cabinet but all his attempts failed.
“As a former minister and presidential candidate of a political party, it is wrong for you to mobilise people, pay people to be insulting the president and discredit all his achievements so far because your party lost Kano State.”
Enaife said his group has uncovered that Kwankwaso, as the leader of Kwankwasiyya Movement was responsible for the recent violent protest in Kano State and the various verbal attack on the judiciary.
“We must stand as a people to resist every form of intimidation, blackmail against the President and the judiciary. If we allow Kwankwaso and his gang to go scout free, others will follow his steps which is too dangerous for us as a nation.
“The time to arrest him, Kwankwaso and one Ladipo Johnson, a crisis merchant engaged to carry out most of the onslaught is now! They are ready to make the country ungovernable to serve their personal interest.
“We restate the call for the arrest of key leaders of Kwankwasiyya Movement and some sympathisers of Governor Abba Yusuf, who are bent on causing trouble if the outcome of Supreme Court does not favour them,” he added.
