Members of the North-west Civil Society on Anti Corruption, alongside hundreds of members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, staged a peaceful protest in Kano State on Monday.
The demonstrators, who ignored a police order barnnng street protest took off at 11.45 am from Kofar Nassarawa gate and proceeded to the Government House , where they were recieved by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, his deputy. Aminu Abdussalam and several top government functionaries.
Daily Sun observed that during the walk to the Government House. the demostrators carried placcards that remarked derogatorily on the All Progressives Congress(APC) and its National Chairman, Umar Abdullahi Ganduje.
Addressing the crowd. the convener Kabiru Waiya said they were concerned by the weight of the allégation raised by the Chairman of the National Assembly and Kano State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge.
He insistrd that as citizens, it was their duty to call attention to the allegation in a bid to protect the nation’s democracy even as he stressed the need to investigate the allegation.
He subsequently presented a protest letter to Governor Abba for onward delivery to President Ahmed Bala Tinubu in Abuja.
In the said letter, the group decried the allegded attempt to induce the tribunal judges to manipulate the outcome of the elections petitions while utging the president to remain neutral on matters pertaining to the activités of election tribunals across the country.
The group warned that Kano was already politically tensed, adding that any attempt to manipulate the outcome of the elections, may result into an unprecedented crisis that may consume the whole country.
“We also wish to appeal to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Judicial Council, ICPC to launch a thorough investigation into these allegation with a view to ascertain the truth and to subject any person found wanting to the music,” the group stated.
While receiving the letter, Governor Abba pledged to personally deliver the letter of protest to the president in Abuja.
He also expressed confidence in the ability of the tribunal to do justice to the petition before it.