Kano residents protest over tribunal judgement

Some residents of Kano State, believed to be supporters of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), on Friday, trooped out in their numbers to protest the judgment of the election petition tribunal, that sacked Governor Yusuf Abba as the governor of the state.

Recall that INEC announced the NNPP candidate as the winner of the governorship election, having polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress, APC, whose candidate scored 890,705 votes.

But the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday, declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasir Gawuna, winner of the March 18 governorship poll.

However, the tribunal said the margin of votes scored by the NNPP was invalid and not in compliance with the 2022 electoral act, therefore deducted 165,663 votes from the NNPP, adding that the ballot papers of the 165,663 were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.

Following the judgement, a 24-hour curfew was imposed by the state government on Wednesday.

But on Friday, it was gathered that supporters of the NNPP hit the street to vent their anger against the judgment, accusing the tribunal of injustice.

They had placards with various inscriptions such as “Gandollar, leave the judiciary alone”, “The people of Kano demand justice”, “It’s Abba that we want”, and among others.

The protesters called for a review of the judgment, adding that they would not accept any form of injustice from anybody.

“We voted for Abba, not any other person, therefore, nobody should ever think of going against our will,” they said.