No fewer than 200 private legal practitioners from the 19 Northern states have volunteered to assist Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State to win his governorship election appeal case at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Yusuf Ibrahim, spokesman of the group, under the banner of ‘Abba Kabir Yusuf Volunteer Lawyers Forum From the 19 Northern States and Abuja’ called on President Bola Tinubu not to allow the country slide into one party system.
At a news conference today, December 3, in Kaduna, the spokesman said that one party system is an unhealthy democratic practice.
The lawyers expressed concern over independence of judiciary in the country, even as they insisted that the rule of law must be obeyed to ensure that the vote of every Nigerian count during elections.
They expressed solidarity with Governor Abba, saying that the Appeal Court judgment in favour of APC was a clear miscarriage of justice.
“We volunteer as private legal practitioners to participate in the litigation in solidarity for Gov. Yusuf at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“We want to represent the truth in the fight to reclaim his mandate and that of the people of Kano State.”
The group also demanded a reworking of the Electoral Act.
“It is pertinent to state here that the Electoral Act needs a holistic reworking in order to address these anomalies of our judicial system and democracy, if we must save it.”
According to the group, pre-election matters must be seen to be addressed as no longer litigable issues after the winner of an election has been declared.
“The attempts by Court to conclude upon their findings to declare politicians as winners must also be divested of such powers. At best, order a re-run in the affected areas.
“The dangers are that if this trends should proceed without being checkmated, then there would no be need any longer for open balloting and casting of votes by the general electorate.
“This is so as their mandate would be taken over by those who know the rules of the game and of course, it will no longer be a matter of who wins the election at the general voting posts.”
The lawyers called on the Supreme Court to resist any form of external interference to protect the image of the judiciary and uphold the rule of law.
“We are hopeful that the apex court would do the right thing devoid of any sentiments.”
Responding to questions from journalists, another member, Usman Ashafa, said that the judgment of the Appeal Court left much to be desired.
