The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has overturned a previous ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano, thereby affirming the validity of the local government elections conducted in October 2024 by the Kano State Government.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Oyewumi stated that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case brought forward by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which sought to prevent the elections from taking place.

The APC claimed that the Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Sani Malumfashi, and several other commissioners were connected to the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). They believed that this connection compromised the fairness and integrity of the electoral process.

In response to these claims, Justice A.M. Liman of the Federal High Court initially sided with the APC, leading to an order that postponed the upcoming elections. However, despite this ruling, the local government elections took place as scheduled on the set date, which raised serious concerns about the state’s ability to manage electoral processes in the face of legal disputes. The appellate court later overturned the lower court’s decision, stating that the Federal High Court had overstepped its constitutional powers. The Court of Appeal clarified that issues related to local government elections fall solely under the authority of state courts, Therefore, the Kano State Government’s right to hold elections free from interference from federal courts is upheld.