Court stops police from arresting APC ward executives behind Ganduje’s suspension

A high court in Kano has granted an ex parte order restraining the police from “inviting, arresting, and harassing” ward officers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) behind the suspension of  Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman. 

In the ruling on Thursday, Yusuf Muhammad, the presiding judge, also restricted “any attempt by the APC national working committee (NWC), state council of the party and APC acting national chairman from using security operatives to arrest or detain the ward executives”, pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice.

“An interim order of injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondents in the two consolidated suits, their officers, agents, privies, or any other officer serving under them from inviting, arresting, harassing or detaining the applicants in respect of the subject matter of the suit, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed,” the judge held.

“It is further ordered that interim order for the motion on notice and all other processes in this suit shall be served on all the respondents, timeously and before the next adjourned date.”

The ex parte motion was jointly filed by Jafar Adamu and 10 others, including Haladu Gwanjo and Laminu Sani Barguma-led factional ward officers, through their counsel Shamsu Jibrin.

The applicants are seeking the protection of their fundamental human rights as guaranteed by the constitution.

The respondents are inspector-general (IGP), AIG zone 1 Kano, commissioner of police Kano, APC, APC NWC, Kano APC state council and Ganduje.

In April, APC executives in Dawakin ward in Tofa LGA of Kano suspended Ganduje over alleged corruption.

Though the state working committee of the APC in Kano nullified the suspension and punished the ward executives, Usman Na’Abba, a judge, upheld it.

This prompted the party executives at the ward level to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC) against the judge.

However, on April 22, Na’Abba vacated his earlier verdict.