The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano that nullified the local government election held in Kano State on October 26, 2024.
The Appeal Court said the lower court had no right to hear the case in the first place.
A three-man panel of judges, led by Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, delivered the judgment on Friday. The court said that only the Kano State High Court has the power to hear matters about the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (KASIEC) and its members.
The Appeal Court agreed with the appeals filed by the Kano State Attorney General, the Kano State House of Assembly, and the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission.
“The Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter,” the court ruled, meaning it had no legal right to handle the case. As a result, the Appeal Court dismissed the original case and restored the validity of the election.
In a related case, the Court of Appeal also reversed another ruling by the Federal High Court that had rejected a list of candidates submitted to KASIEC by one faction of the New Nigeria People’s Party.
The issue involved a leadership dispute within the NNPP, with two groups fighting over which list of candidates should be accepted for the council elections.
But the Appeal Court ruled that such matters are political and cannot be settled by the court.
“The court cannot decide who should lead a political party or choose its candidates,” the judges stated.
