The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling made by the Federal High Court in Kano that nullified the October 2024 local government elections in the state. The appeal court’s decision, delivered on Friday, marks a major legal shift in the ongoing political dispute involving the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) and the controversial local polls.
A three-judge panel led by Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill unanimously ruled that the Federal High Court overstepped its legal boundaries when it ruled on matters concerning the composition and qualifications of KANSIEC members. The court stated that only the Kano State High Court has the authority to address such issues.
The panel heard three appeals related to the matter. The first was filed by the Kano State House of Assembly (CA/KN/233/2024), the second by the state’s Attorney General (CA/KN/290/2024), and the third by KANSIEC itself (CA/KN/291/2024). In each of these appeals, the court found that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction and therefore struck out the original suits.
Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba, who gave the lead judgment in the Attorney General’s appeal, pointed out that the trial judge, Justice Simon Amobeda, made an error in accepting jurisdiction over the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its Kano State Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas. That suit had challenged the appointment of KANSIEC members, claiming they were politically affiliated with the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Justice Talba noted that since the plaintiffs’ primary concern was about the make-up of KANSIEC, only a state court, not a federal one, could decide on the matter. He also said the Federal High Court had no authority to interpret the KANSIEC Law of 2001, which was central to the case.
Justice Georgewill also delivered rulings in the other two appeals, reaching the same conclusion as Talba and ordering the suits filed at the Federal High Court to be struck out.
In a separate but related case, the Court of Appeal also reversed a different decision made on October 24, 2024, by Justice Amobeda. That judgment had rejected the list of local election candidates submitted by a faction of the NNPP led by Musa Kwankwaso. In this appeal, Justice Oyejoju Oyebiola Oyewumi ruled that the issue stemmed from a party leadership conflict — a matter beyond the scope of the court.
According to Justice Oyewumi, “The subject of the case was an internal/domestic party dispute of the NNPP over which the court lacked jurisdiction.” She further noted that the court could not settle the disagreement over which list of candidates was valid without deciding who leads the NNPP — something the court is not empowered to do.
She added that such party disputes should be handled within the mechanisms set by the political party’s constitution. Courts, she said, should not be used to settle internal leadership struggles.
