Mariam Adebukola 
Nigerian Police officers, Kano State Command have reportedly assaulted some journalists who were covering the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in court.
New Telegraph reports that the tribunal is preparing to announce its judgment in response to a petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), contesting the victory of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the Kano State Governorship Election.
According to Daily Trust on Wednesday, one of its reporters, Salim Umar Ibrahim, and BBC Hausa Reporter, Zahraddeen Lawal, were attacked in court.
The altercation between the journalists and the police apparently began when the officers instructed the journalists to relocate approximately 10 meters away from the court premises. During this process, some other policemen reportedly assaulted the journalists, alleging that they were taking photographs.
During the incident, some police officers pursued the BBC reporter, attempting to confiscate his phone, while others detained the Daily Trust reporter and forcefully took his phone, resulting in damage to the screen.
Meanwhile, the expectation of the judgment has generated tension in the state, with both parties organizing prayers to seek God’s assistance.
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The judgment expectation has also led to the sacking of a commissioner who issued death threats to the tribunal judges.
New Telegraph reports that during the adoption of final written addresses, the respondents to the petition, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Yusuf, and NNPP, all appealed to the tribunal to dismiss the petition. In contrast, the All Progressives Congress (APC) urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and declare Nasir Gawuna as the winner of the election.
APC’s legal counsel, Offiong Offiong (SAN), argued that the evidence presented by the petitioner before the tribunal had demonstrated that Governor Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP before the election. Therefore, he contended that Governor Yusuf could not have been rightfully elected.
Offiong Offiong (SAN) further argued that the respondents were unable to refute the existence of deficiencies in some of the over 130,000 ballot papers that were used to declare Yusuf as the winner. He claimed that if those flawed ballots were excluded from the total count, his client would emerge as the winner of the March 28 election.
