By Ibrahim Muhammad Kano
Nigeria’s leading human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has faulted the verdict by the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the victory of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
Recall that Governor Yusuf was declared duely elected by the electoral umpire, INEC, in the Governorship election held in the State on March 18, 2023.
Speaking on Channels TV Sunrise programme on Friday, Falana said, “You cannot punish voters for the errors of INEC. That was what recently happened in Kano, where 65,000 votes were said to have not been marked by INEC officials”.
He added: “We are asking our judges to embrace justice, substantial justice, in a way that you cannot punish voters for the errors of INEC”.
According to the legal luminary, once the votes have been counted and a winner declared, “You cannot challenge the validity of the ballot papers”.
“So, I think these are the areas where our judges will have to go back to the drawing table,” Falana stressed.
