• Kano panel begins probe into #EndBadGovernance violence
Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) has reacted to the court order restraining the umpire from imposing N10 million and N5 million charges on the nomination for chairmanship and councillorship positions, in that order.
An ex parte order, yesterday, by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, restricted KANSIEC from collecting the charges for the council poll.
The application instituted by Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) has the commission as the only defendant in the matter.
The case was adjourned till September 25, 2024, for hearing.
Reacting to the development, KANSIEC Chairman, Prof. Lawan Malumfashi, said the actions were not unexpected.
Malumfashi, however, declared that the commission was prepared to deploy necessary measures against any stumbling block in the way of the scheduled council poll.
“The legal action is not unexpected and I can assure you that KANSIEC is not bothered and would not be intimidated by any legal action. Before now, we are prepared for eventualities of this nature. We can only assure you that things will surely go the way it is planned,” Malumfashi told The Guardian.
KANSIEC has rescheduled the council election to October 26 against November 30, 2024 earlier fixed. The commission justified its action with the Supreme Court judgment and ultimatum issued by the Federal government on local council financial independence.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) on the destruction of public and private property during the #EndBadGovernance protest has begun investigation into the breach of peace.
At the inaugural sitting of its fact-finding mission, the panel vowed to leave no stone unturned in its quest to unravel the root of the wanton destruction, looting and killing of innocent citizens during the August 1 violent protest in Kano.
Briefing journalists on its modus operandi, Chairman of the panel, Justice Lawan Mahmoud (rtd), said the JCI would thoroughly investigate and find out individuals, groups of persons or institutions directly or indirectly responsible for the misconducts.
He, however, vowed to issue a want of arrest on individuals or groups who refuse to honour invitation for inquiries on the violence that erupted during the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Governor Abba Yusuf had, on Monday, inaugurated the 14-man panel of inquiry with a clear mandate of establishing the remote and immediate cause of the first week of August 2024 breach of peace, wanton destruction of public and private properties, looting, arson and killings in Kano.
According to Mahmoud, the commission would visit all the scenes of destruction, where the suspected hoodlums looted, including the state High Court Complex, NCC Digital Complex, Kano Printing Press and others to ascertain the level of damage.
He appealed to media practitioners to be fair in the reportage of the commission’s proceedings, urging journalists not to hesitate to ask questions in the areas of ambiguity.
Assuring that the commission would remain independent of any interference from any quarter, he cited Governor Yusuf, who pledged to stay out of the affairs of the commission.
