Four weeks after the national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, alleged that he took Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to the homes of Supreme Court justices in 2019, neither the Supreme Court of Nigeria nor the National Judicial Commission has announced any investigation into the claim.
Kwankwaso made the allegation while addressing supporters following Yusuf’s recent defection from the NNPP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a move he described as a personal betrayal. In his remarks, Kwankwaso revisited the 2019 Kano governorship election dispute and claimed he and Yusuf visited the homes of Supreme Court justices to plead their case after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive.
“He had forgotten that in 2019, I took him to the homes of all the Supreme Court judges in Nigeria to beg them. I and the governor met them in their villages and towns,” Kwankwaso said.
The NNPP leader did not name any of the justices involved or provide details of the alleged meetings. Since the statement was made, the Supreme Court and its serving justices have not publicly responded or issued any denial.
The 2019 Kano governorship election was initially led by Yusuf, then the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, with 1,014,353 votes against 953,522 votes recorded by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of the APC. The election was declared inconclusive due to the cancellation of over 100,000 votes, and a subsequent supplementary poll resulted in Ganduje being declared winner. The Supreme Court dismissed Yusuf’s appeal in January 2020, affirming Ganduje’s victory.
Kwankwaso and Yusuf later defected to the NNPP, under which platform Yusuf won the 2023 Kano governorship election. Although his victory was initially overturned by the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court reinstated Yusuf in January 2024, faulting the lower courts and restoring the cancelled votes.
In response to Kwankwaso’s recent claim, only a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Musa Mohammed Dattijo, has issued a public denial. Dattijo, who retired on October 27, 2023, said he never met Kwankwaso or Yusuf at any time during his tenure, either in relation to the 2019 election case or any other matter. He challenged Kwankwaso to state when and where such a meeting allegedly took place.
Dattijo cautioned that his response should not be taken as a collective denial on behalf of the judiciary, warning that sweeping allegations could damage the reputation of judicial officers unconnected to the matter. He also advised politicians against drawing judges into partisan disputes, noting that unsubstantiated claims further erode public confidence in the judiciary.
The allegation has renewed scrutiny of interactions between political actors and judicial officers, following recent controversies involving members of the bench and the executive. In 2024, human rights lawyer Femi Falana criticised the construction and allocation of houses to judges by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, arguing that such actions could create conflicts of interest and undermine judicial independence.
Kwankwaso’s claim has continued to draw public attention amid growing concerns about the integrity of the judiciary. Legal observers have called on relevant institutions, including the NJC and the Nigerian Bar Association, to address the allegation and determine whether further action is warranted.
• Source: ThisDay Live
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