Falana also faulted the decision of the tribunal judges after sacking Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf
By Kehinde Okeowo
Prominent lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, has accused Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal of punishing the voters in the state for errors committed by Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC).
Falana made this known on Friday, November 3, while appearing as a guest on a Channels TV programme.
According to the human rights lawyer, the decision of the judges to omit 165,000 votes because they were not stamped was improper and amounts to punishing voters instead of the culprit, INEC.
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He went on to say the verdict of the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal did not achieve “substantial justice” following its decision to nullify the victory of Governor Abba Yusuf.
Speaking during the chat, Falana said: “You cannot punish voters for the errors of INEC. That was what recently happened in Kano, where 165,000 votes were said to have not been marked by INEC officials,”
He further added: “We are asking our judges to embrace justice—substantial justice—in a way that you cannot punish voters for the errors of INEC. You cannot challenge the validity of the ballot papers.
“So, I think these are the areas where our judges will have to go back to the drawing table.”
