BREAKING: Appeal Court affirms legitimacy of Kano LG elections

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the decision of the Federal High Court in Kano, which had attempted to halt the local government elections conducted in October 2024.

This latest ruling represents a major legal shift in the ongoing dispute between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC).

The APC had previously approached the Federal High Court, claiming that the Chairman of KANSIEC, Professor Sani Malumfashi, along with several electoral commissioners, were allegedly active members of the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

On the strength of these allegations, the APC sought a court injunction to stop the elections from proceeding.

Justice A.M. Amobeda of the Federal High Court ruled in favour of the APC and ordered a suspension of the polls. Nonetheless, the elections were conducted in defiance of the injunction.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Oyewumi of the Court of Appeal held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, and therefore had no legal basis to issue a ruling.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal filed by the Kano State Government and validated the outcome of the October elections.

As at the time of filing this report, the APC had not officially responded to the ruling.