Court Of Appeal To Rule On Legality Of KANSIEC Members’ Disqualification
The Kano division of the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, has reserved judgment in five appeals challenging two decisions of the Federal High Court in Kano. These decisions, among other matters, included a ruling that voided the composition of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC).
A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Georgewill Ekanem, announced after hearing the appeals that the date for judgment would be communicated to the parties involved.
The appeals before the court included: CA/KN/20/2025 filed by KANSIEC, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and four other respondents; CA/KN/233/2024, filed by the Kano State House of Assembly and others, with Honourable Aminu Aliyu Tiga and 14 other respondents; CA/KN/290/2024, filed by the Attorney General of Kano State and six others, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and three other respondents; and CA/KN/291/2024, filed by KANSIEC and eight others, with the Kano State House of Assembly and six others as respondents.
These appeals stemmed from judgments delivered on October 22 and 24, 2024, by Justice Simon Ameboda of the Federal High Court in Kano.
In his October 22 ruling, Justice Ameboda had restrained KANSIEC from proceeding with the local government elections originally scheduled for October 26, 2024. The judge also declared the composition of KANSIEC void, ruling that the appointed members were not qualified. Specifically, the suit filed by Aminu Aliyu Tiga and the APC challenged the legality of the KANSIEC appointments.
Justice Ameboda found that the appointed members of KANSIEC were involved in partisan politics as members of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), which violated provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the KANSIEC Law of 2001. He ruled that their membership in a political party made them ineligible to serve on the electoral commission.
The judge also ruled that the commission’s secretary, Anas Muhammad Mustapha, was unqualified for his position as he had not been a Kano State civil servant of director-level rank prior to his appointment, a requirement under Section 14 of the KANSIEC Law 2001.
Consequently, Justice Ameboda disqualified all members of KANSIEC and ordered their immediate removal from office. He further declared that any preparations made by KANSIEC for the 2024 local government elections, including the issuance of election guidelines, candidate screening, and the sale of nomination forms, were null and void.
Additionally, the judge ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withhold election materials from KANSIEC and to retrieve any previously provided materials, such as voter registers, until a properly constituted commission was in place.
Justice Ameboda directed the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) not to participate in or monitor the local government elections until KANSIEC was reconstituted in accordance with the constitutional and legal provisions.
