Appeal Court sacks Kwankwaso, affirms Datti as Kano rep

Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has nullified Kano State’s Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency election, where All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Court further reinstated Yusuf Umar Datti of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the authentic winner.

The three-man panel led by Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awotoye held that Datti’s appeal had merit and allowed it.

The panel further contended that Section 77 of the Electoral Act was improperly applied because a political party’s membership is an internal matter over which a court has no jurisdiction, and that the tribunal erred in counting the date of the appellant’s resignation on the day of his party primary.