Supreme Court ruling on Rivers LG stirs concern in Kano

The recent judgment of the Supreme Court that nullified the council election in Rivers State is generating apprehension in Kano, particularly regarding where the pendulum of Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court will swing.

In a suit filed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the council election in Rivers was conducted in violation of relevant laws.

The Guardian reports that the APC and two others dragged the Kano State Government, the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (KNSIEC) and 55 others, including the 44 local government chairmen, before the Federal High Court over the illegal conduct of the council poll in Kano.

The APC essentially sought the court to order the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) to stop monthly allocation to local governments in Kano.

The applicants are seeking a declaration that the 44 local chairmen are not democratically elected and constituted according to Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, the absence of Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, counsel to the Kano State Government, however, stalled the progress of the matter.

Justice Amobeda told the court that Awomolo had sent a letter seeking an adjournment until after the Easter vacation. However, the judge rejected the period proposed by Awomolo and insisted the case had suffered several adjournments against the interest of justice.

Although Justice Amobeda granted a further adjournment to April 14, 2025, he ordered that all processes be filed and served before the next adjourned date and added that under no condition would further extension be granted.

Earlier, counsel to KANSIEC, John Baiyeshea, SAN, urged the court to adjourn the matter in the interest of justice since Awomolo was absent. Counsel to APC, Abdul Adamu Fagge, SAN, did not oppose the adjournment.

In October 2024, Justice Amobeda restrained the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) from conducting the council election, saying the appointment of members of the electoral body was not properly constituted and contradicted the provisions of the Constitution and electoral laws.

Although the court gave leverage for the conduct of the council election until the state government properly constituted KANSIEC, the election was conducted by the same commission as scheduled.

KANSIEC Chairman, Prof. Sani Malunfashi, had told journalists that the October 26, 2024, council poll was conducted based on the judgment of Justice Sanusi Ma’aji of the State High Court.

KANSIEC had relied on the judgment of Justice Ma’aji, which cleared the commission to proceed with the conduct of the poll as allowed by the Constitution—a verdict that came a few days after the restraining order from the Federal High Court.