Kano Guber: Tribunal Sacks Gov Yusuf, Declares APC’s Gawuna Winner

*Judges Deliver Judgement Via Zoom  The Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18 election. Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). While Nasir Gawuna, his APC counterpart congratulated him, the party proceeded to court. On Wednesday, the three-man panel ordered the withdrawal of the certificate of return which INEC presented to Governor Yusuf and directed that a certificate of return be issued to Gawuna. The court deducted 165,663 votes from Gov Yusuf total as invalid votes, stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.  Meanwhile, the Tribunal Judges were not physically in court. Journalists, lawyers, party members and many others were denied access into the court. Reports had it that the Secretariat had said there would be no live broadcast of the judgment and that the few journalists admitted into the court would not make use of smartphones or cameras. Top security officials had earlier said that they did not know the whereabouts of the judges and that it was possible that the proceeding would be virtual. When the proceedings commenced before 10, Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, Chairman of the three-member panel, spoke via Zoom. It was unclear why the judges were not in court, but there have been allegations and counter allegations against the panel. It was reported that the former Commissioner of Land and Physical Planning, Adamu Kibiya, had asked the judges to choose between their lives and their work while delivering the judgement. “People voted for us and some people are attempting to do injustice. We want to tell the judges that we will not accept this. Any judge that is willing to deprive us of our rights will regret it. Whatever will happen, we won’t care…,” he had said during a protest organised by members of the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the state. His comment had triggered backlash, leading to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf sacking him.