By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Voters Rights Association of Nigeria (VRAN) has described the Appeal Court ruling sacking the Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf, of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), as a rape of rule law and democracy.

The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court had on Friday, upheld the ruling of the lower Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kano that sacked Governor Yusuf and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, winner of the election.

A statement on Saturday, signed by a Human Rights Lawyer and President of VRAN, Dr. Jezie Ekejiuba, called on the National Judicial council (NJC) to intervene and call the Judges to order.

The statement even encouraged Governor Yusuf and his Party, NNPP, to remain focused in the governance of Kano State while appealing the judgemnet for justice to prevail.

“The attention of Voters Rights Association of Nigeria (VRAN) has been called to the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on the gubernatorial legal tussle between the All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate, Nasiru Gawuna and the INEC-declared winner of the election, NNPP’s Governor Abba Yusuf, in which the Appeal Court yesterday, Friday, sacked the Governor on the court’s adjudication that Governor Yusuf was not a member of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) before he contested the election.

“Earlier, the lower Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had voided the Governor’s election on the grounds that more 165,000 votes credited for the Governor during the counting of votes by INEC officials were not stamped or signed by the INEC electoral presiding officials during the voting period.

“We consider the two reasons for the nullification of the electoral mandate of the majority people of Kano State as corrupt in whatever angle one looks at it.

“This is because a decision is corrupt if it was made based on any consideration other than legal merit.

“When has a validly thump-printed ballot papers duly acknowledged by the electoral agency’s presiding officials as valid votes which signals the Intention of the voters become void?

“When has any court inquiry or adjudication which borders on the membership of political parties and which is a pre-election dispute and which litigation was brought by a busy body and non-member of NNPP and which legal issue has become a trite law in Nigeria as pronounced by plethora of several judicial decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria suddenly became ground for nullification of Governorship mandate of Kano State people. Has the law changed overnight?

“We hereby call on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to intervene to call the judges to order, even as we encourage Governor Yusuf and his party, NNPP to remain focused in the governance of Kano State and quickly appeal to the Supreme Court for justice to prevail.

“There is no doubt that the judgment is not only a rape of Rule of Law and Democracy but also patently on the face of it, a corruption of justice at the highest level,” the statement read.

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