presided over by Justice Oyewumi ,has overturned the ruling of a Federal High Court, Kano which had earlier halted the conduct of local government elections in the state, declaring that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
The appellate court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Oyewumi on Friday, ruled that the Federal High Court exceeded its constitutional authority by intervening in issues related to the conduct of local government elections, a responsibility solely within the jurisdiction of state authorities.
However,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 held in the state
On October 22, 2024, Justice Amobeda, presiding over a Kano division of the Federal Hogh Court, had issued a restraining order against KANSIEC from conducting the local government elections scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 2024.
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.
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 by 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.