Kano LG polls: Court sacks all NNPP candidates 24 hours to election

• Justice Simon Amobede voided the candidatures of the affected party members while ruling in a suit filed by a faction of the party led by Dalhatu Shehu Usman.

All the 44 chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, for the Kano State local government election have been sacked.

The candidates were sacked by a Federal High Court on Friday, further deepening the crisis that envelopes the party.

Justice Simon Amobede, who delivered the judgement, voided the candidatures of the affected party members while ruling in a suit filed by a faction of the party led by Dalhatu Shehu Usman.

The judge asked the faction to submit its list of candidates to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC, for clearance.

The defendants in the case are the Independent National Electoral Commission, Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, Inspector General of Police and Director, Department of Security Services (DSS).

Upon hearing the originating summons filed and dated 8th October, 2024, Justice Simon Amobede barred INEC from releasing the voters register to KANSIEC.

The court also ordered the acceptance of the list submitted by the plaintiffs.

“The 1st defendant (INEC) is hereby restrained from releasing the voters register for the 2nd defendant (KANSIEC) to conduct the proposed election on 26th October 2024.

“The 2nd defendant (KANSIEC) is hereby directed to accept as genuine and subsisting, the list of NNPP candidates submitted to it by the recognized State Chairman of the party Dalhatu Shehu Usman, which is in accordance with the party Constitution, and reject any list of candidates submitted to it by anyone else for the 2024 Local Government Election in Kano State.

“That the 3rd and 4th defendants (Police and DSS) are forthwith restrained from providing security and protection to the scene of the election planned to take place on the 26th October, 2024.”

The sacking of the candidates comes barely 24 hours after the chairman and four other members of the Kano State independent electoral commission (KANSIEC) were also sacked by court.