The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on the appeal filed by Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State, challenging the decisions of both the Court of Appeal and the State Election Petitions Tribunal that led to his removal from office.
The panel of five justices, headed by Justice Inyang Okoro, made this decision after hearing arguments from lawyers involved in the case on Thursday, December 21.
Governor Abba Yusuf, alongside the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP), submitted the appeal to contest the November 17 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which invalidated their victory in the March 19 governorship election.
The NNPP also brought to the attention of the apex court discrepancies in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, pointing out contradictions and challenging the award of N1 million in damages to the governor.
The Court of Appeal, in its earlier decision, upheld the appeal of Nasir Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that Governor Abba Yusuf was not a registered member of the NNPP and, consequently, was ineligible to participate in the election.
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During the recent proceedings at the Supreme Court, legal representatives engaged in a lengthy argument over the jurisdiction of the court in matters concerning a candidate’s political party membership.
Moreover, the lawyers debated whether the court had the authority to address the consequences of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) failure to sign over 160,000 ballot papers in Kano State.