The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has taken legal action to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register for the upcoming local government elections in the state. The party filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Kano, seeking an order to halt the electoral process.
The APC, led by its chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, has raised concerns over the fairness of the electoral process and the role of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC). The party’s legal representative, Ismail Abdulaziz, argued that the conduct of the election, slated for October 26, should be suspended until the court makes a decision on the case.
The APC, through its lawyer, Abdulaziz, filed the suit on Friday, requesting an injunction to prevent INEC from providing KANSIEC with essential election materials, including the voter register. They also asked the court to stop KANSIEC from continuing preparations for the election.
The plaintiffs named several key figures and organizations in the lawsuit, including the Kano State Attorney General, KANSIEC, INEC, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and the Chairman of KANSIEC, Sani Lawan.
Abdulaziz explained the reasons behind the legal challenge, highlighting concerns over the fees imposed by KANSIEC for chairmanship and councillorship candidates.
“We are asking the court to interpret some provisions of the constitution and KANSIEC guidelines. One of our key issues is whether KANSIEC, which has requested N9 million and N4 million from chairmanship and councillorship candidates, is operating as a revenue-generating agency,” Abdulaziz said.
He further added that the APC wants the court to determine whether KANSIEC can remain impartial given the current makeup of its members, some of whom the party believes may have conflicts of interest.
“We also want the court to prevent INEC from releasing voter registers to KANSIEC until the commission complies with the constitutional provisions. This is crucial to ensure a fair and transparent election process,” Abdulaziz stated.
On Friday, the APC’s counsel presented the case before Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court in Kano. After hearing the initial arguments, Justice Amobeda adjourned the case to October 11, allowing time for the defendants to respond to the lawsuit.
The court has directed the APC to serve the relevant documents to the defendants, including INEC and KANSIEC, before the next hearing date.
The APC is also seeking an interlocutory injunction, which would temporarily halt the electoral process until the court makes a final decision. This move has cast uncertainty over the upcoming local government elections, as the legal battle could delay or even disrupt the poll.
In a related development, the Kano State government and the Kano State House of Assembly have raised objections to the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction over the case. Their counsels, Rilwanu Umar (SAN) and Bashir Yusuf, argued that only the state high court and the state assembly have the authority to handle matters related to KANSIEC.
According to Umar and Yusuf, the regulation of KANSIEC falls within the exclusive purview of the state government, and as such, the federal court should not interfere in the case.
“The jurisdiction to hear any matter concerning the regulations of KANSIEC lies solely with the state high court and state assembly. The Federal High Court does not have the authority to preside over such cases,” said Umar.
This jurisdictional argument has added a layer of complexity to the case, as the Federal High Court will need to decide whether it has the authority to proceed with the case or whether the matter should be referred to a state court.
This is not the first time the APC has attempted to stop the local government elections in Kano. Earlier, one Aliyu Aminu Tiga and the APC filed a similar application seeking to block KANSIEC from conducting the election. Justice Amobeda, however, declined to grant an interim order stopping the election at that time.
The court insisted that the defendants must be put on notice and given an opportunity to present their case before any decision could be made. This refusal to grant the interim order has not deterred the APC, as they have continued to push for a legal resolution ahead of the election.
