The rulings on petitions pertaining to the gubernatorial elections have been viewed as biassed by the judiciary amid criticism of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the results of the 2023 election. This is particularly true given that opposition parties contend that the rulings are biassed in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The list of governors that the court has dismissed is below.
1. Abba Kabir Yusuf: On September 20, 2023, the state tribunal dissolved the Kano State governor’s victory in the March 18 governorship election by recognising APC candidate Nasir Yusuf Gawuna as the legitimate victor. Governor Yusuf was dismissed by the panel chaired by Justice Oluyemi Osadebay after 165,663 of his votes were ruled to be void since they were neither signed nor stamped by INEC.
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Ganuwa’s 890,705 votes remained, while the Governor’s votes were cut to 853,939 as a result. Calling the Tribunal’s judgement “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice,” Yusuf instantly disagreed with it and filed an appeal.
On November 17, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, however, dismissed Yusuf from his position as governor of Kano State and confirmed the decision of the Tribunal, which was presided over by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay.
2. Dauda Lawal: The governor of Zamfara state lost his job after the Court of Appeal in Abuja ruled on Thursday, November 16, that his election was inconclusive.
It was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that Dauda had won.
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However, Bello Matawalle, the APC candidate for governor, appealed the results of the March 18 governorship election to the Tribunal; however, his plea was denied due to lack of merit.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the poll was inconclusive and directed INEC to conduct new elections in three local governments in its ruling on Thursday.
3. Abdullahi Sule: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the polls conducted on March 18—David Ombugadu—was proclaimed the legitimately elected governor of the state by the governorship election petition tribunal seated in Lafia, the state capital, annulling the victory of the Nasarawa State governor in October.
The three-member panel, chaired by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, argued during the Zoom judgement delivery that the petitioner had proven his case beyond a reasonable doubt.
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However, the governor insisted that he will continue to serve as state governor until the Supreme Court issues a different decision, calling the ruling a temporary setback and a wake-up call.
4. Alex Otti: The first governor to be removed by the Federal High Court in Kano was the governor of Abia State, who was elected on the Labour Party (LP) platform.
Otti and other Labour Party candidates who won the vote had their candidatures declared void by the court in suit number FHC/KN/CS/107/2023, brought by one Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim. This was due to the Labour Party’s refusal to provide INEC with a list of its members thirty days prior to the election.
However, the Kano Court of Appeal overturned the ruling of the lower court in October and supported the candidatures of the governor and other Labour Party candidates.
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