The All Progressives Congress (APC) has given the Kano State Attorney General, Haruna Dederi, 48 hours to retract or provide evidence that the Appeal Court justices who issued the Kano governorship election judgment were compromised.
The party also demanded that Dederi name anyone who tampered with the verdict or face legal action.
The ultimatum was issued by Kano APC State Chairman, Hon. Abdullahi Abbas, in a petition dated November 23 and addressed to Dederi.
Abbas made this claim in the petition titled, “Injurious, malicious and false statement against the judiciary and our party on a live television program and a voice note going round in the social media: Demand for retraction.”
He recalled that on the 23rd November, 2023, Dederi featured on Channels Television breakfast show, wherein he made damaging and serious allegation of corruption against the Judges of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Justices of the Court of Appeal that heard and determined the appeal of Abba Yusuf and New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) filed in Appeal No CA/KN/EP/GOV/KAN/34/2023, Yusuf Abba Kabir v APC & 2 Ors.
Abbas stated that in the same interview, while commenting on the Tribunal’s verdict that terminated Yusuf, Dederi maliciously and wrongly claimed that the Tribunal’s decision to give judgment via zoom was due to intervention.
He said:
“Consequent upon the above, I therefore demand that you come forward and mention the names of those who have hands in interfering with the judgment of the two courts.
“This will go a long way in cleansing the society of corruption. It will also clear my name and be protected against unnecessary attacks your comment has subjected me to.
“But if you have no proof of the serious allegation you made, I demand that you publicly apologise to me and my party for the embarrassment you caused us.
“I therefore by this letter, give you an ultimatum of 48 hours to back your allegations against the Judges and Justices that they were influenced to give judgment contrary to the law as you claimed.
“Please note that if you fail to meet with my demands as stated above, I shall not hesitate to file a petition against you at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, as well as institute an action for defamation against you in court, and this we shall do without further recourse to you.”