The All Progressives Congress (APC), the major opposition party in Kano, filed a new lawsuit against the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) on Friday in the Federal High Court in Kano.
APC is requesting the court to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register for the upcoming council poll.
The suit was filed by the APC and its Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, through their counsel, Ismail Abdulaziz. They are also seeking an interlocutory application to restrain KANSIEC from continuing with the process of the council election scheduled for October 26, 2024.
Defendants in the case include the Kano State Attorney General, KANSIEC, INEC, the Attorney General of the Federation, KANSIEC Chairman Sani Lawan, and other commission members.
Abdulaziz stated, “We are asking for the court to interpret some provisions of the constitution, KANSIEC guidelines, and the law itself to determine whether KANSIEC is a revenue-generating agency, especially considering that the N9 million and N4 million fees requested from Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates by KANSIEC are exorbitant.”
He added, “We want the court to determine whether KANSIEC will be impartial given the current members that constitute the commission. We are also seeking the court to order INEC not to release election materials such as the voter register to KANSIEC until the commission complies with constitutional provisions.”
Abdulaziz further explained, “We now seek an interlocutory injunction to restrain the continuation of the election process. The defendants did not receive our processes, and the court has adjourned until next Friday to allow all parties to file their responses.”
During the hearing before Presiding Judge Justice Simon Amobeda, the court adjourned the matter until October 11, 2024, and ordered the plaintiffs to serve the defendants.
In a related issue, the counsel for the Kano State government, Rilwanu Umar SAN, and the Kano State House of Assembly, Barrister Bashir Yusuf, stated they have filed preliminary objections before Justice Amobeda, challenging the court’s jurisdiction over matters concerning KANSIEC. They argued that only the state high court and the state assembly have the authority to address issues related to KANSIEC’s regulations, not a federal court.
This application by the Kano State government was a response to a motion filed by the APC and one Aliyu Aminu Tiga, seeking to halt the election’s conduct. Earlier, Justice Amobeda had temporarily refused to grant the request but noted that the defendants would need to show cause why the relief should not be granted.
The court, presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, has adjourned the matter until October 11 for further hearing.
