Kano guber election dispute: INEC opens defence

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Monday appeared before the Kano state Election Petition tribunal to flag off its defence against the allegations filed by Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The counsel to the electoral empire, barrister Adedayo Adedeji led one Idris Mohammed to give evidence before the court.

The witness told the court that he is the attached to Dala Local Government in his capacity as the Electoral Officer, stating that the March 23rd, 2019 gubernatorial elections were cancelled owing to cases of over-voting and violence in some polling units in the LG area.

According to him the cancellation of the outcome of elections in some selected polling units located in the local government was formally reported to the commission by the assigned ward collation officers.

He further stated that the regulations guiding the conduct of the governorship elections have empowered INEC officials, who are dissatisfied with the voting process to dismiss the election outcome, explaining that the official is mandated to write a report notifying the commission of the recorded cases of violence and over-voting, which led to the cancellation.

The witness in his deposition told the court that the March 23rd governorship election in some polling units in Adakawa and Bakin Ruwa in Dala LG were cancelled due to issues of over-voting and skirmishes.

Mohammed speaking under cross-examination informed the court that the INEC officials attached to the cancelled polling units and their ward collation officials acted accordingly by cancelling the results in the affected units, adding that the report written notifying INEC headquarters was in compliance with the regulations governing the execution of the polls.

The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Shamaki ordered the matter adjourned to 20th August for continuation.