Appeal court reverses high court ruling, validates Kano LG elections

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in Kano, reinstating the validity of the local government elections held in Kano State in October 2024.

The case originated from a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which sought to stop the elections on the grounds that the Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. Sani Malumfashi, and some of his commissioners were allegedly members of the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

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Justice A. M. Liman of the Federal High Court had initially ruled in favour of the APC, ordering a halt to the electoral process. Despite this, the elections proceeded as scheduled.

Delivering the lead judgment on Friday, Justice Oyewumi of the Court of Appeal declared that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter in the first place, thereby rendering its decision null and void.

As a result, the appellate court upheld the appeal filed by the Kano State Government and confirmed the legitimacy of the October 2024 local government elections.

At the time of this report, the APC had not issued an official statement regarding the judgment.

Multiple attempts to reach the party’s spokesperson, Ahmad Aruwa, were unsuccessful.