The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the appeal of Mohammed Abacha, son of the late former military ruler General Sani Abacha, challenging the victory of Sadiq Aminu Wali as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State.
The apex court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal in Kano, which had on February 10, 2023, nullified Abacha’s candidacy and recognized Wali as the authentic PDP flag bearer in the state.
The Court of Appeal had set aside a judgment of a High Court that had earlier declared Abacha as the PDP standard bearer in Kano.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice John Iyang Okoro, who led a five-man panel, the Supreme Court held that it was only the National Working Committee (NWC) of a political party that had the power to conduct primary elections and not the state chapter.
The court ruled that Wali remained the valid governorship candidate of PDP in Kano State, having emerged through a lawful primary election conducted by the NWC of the party.
Abacha had contested against Wali at a parallel primary election organized by a faction of PDP loyal to him. He claimed that he won with 736 votes against Wali’s 710 votes.
However, Wali challenged his claim at a High Court and obtained an order recognizing him as the PDP candidate. Abacha appealed against this order at the Court of Appeal but lost. He then proceeded to appeal at the Supreme Court but also lost.
