The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, presided over by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, has overturned a ruling from the Federal High Court in Kano that had previously halted the conduct of local government elections in the state.
The appellate court declared that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to handle the matter.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Oyewumi ruled that the Federal High Court had exceeded its constitutional authority by intervening in matters related to the conduct of local government elections, which is a responsibility strictly within the jurisdiction of state authorities.
With this ruling, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal filed by the Kano State Government, effectively nullifying the previous judgment and affirming the legality of the local government elections in the state.
On October 22, 2024, Justice Simon Amobeda, presiding over a Kano division of the Federal High Court, had issued a restraining order preventing the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) from conducting the local government elections scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 2024.
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The court’s decision was based on the finding that the chairman and members of KANSIEC are card-carrying members of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which it said violates several constitutional provisions.
The court said the appointments of KANSIEC’s chairman and members contravened sections 197(1)(b) and 200(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), as well as Section 4(b) of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission Law 2001. These sections stipulate that members of electoral commissions must not be active participants in partisan politics to ensure impartiality in conducting elections.
Justice Amobeda declared that KANSIEC, in its then composition, was not legally qualified to conduct elections.
He emphasized that any actions taken by KANSIEC regarding election preparations—such as issuing guidelines or screening candidates—are null and void.
As a result of this ruling, KANSIEC is prohibited from proceeding with any activities related to the local government elections until it appoints qualified individuals as its chairman and members in accordance with relevant laws. Furthermore, Justice Amobeda directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to release any election materials to KANSIEC until it is properly constituted.
KANSIEC however got another order from the state high court giving it permission to conduct the election, which was eventually held.
The opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), went ahead to challenge the outcome of the election before the same Federal High Court, seeking the stoppage of federal allocation to the local governments based n the claim that their elections were conducted in violation of the court order.