Heavy security has been mounted around the buildings of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, ahead of the Court’s decision in the Nasarawa State Governorship election legal dispute.
All routes leading to the Appellate Court have been sealed off by heavily armed security agents from the Nigeria Police, DSS, and the Civil Defense Corps.
Private and commercial cars that used to travel on Federal Secretariat roads to various locations have been redirected to alternate routes, with officials from the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, fighting a losing battle to regulate the heavy traffic caused by the road closure.
According to DAILY POST, the security measures were put in place by the court’s management to prevent a possible breakdown of the law following the verdict.
At the time of writing, both court officials, lawyers, litigants, and journalists were being fully frisked at the main gate before being allowed into the court premises.
Although several journalists were accredited to cover the ruling, only five were permitted into the courtroom due to a lack of seats and crowd management, according to a court official.
Only a few accredited political party representatives and their followers who arrived at the court as early as 8 a.m. were let in, while numerous others were blocked to a safe distance by armed mobile cops.
The state’s current governor, Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and his opponent, David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are locked in a court struggle.
It will be recalled that the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, in a two-to-one ruling, nullified Governor Sule’s election for failing to receive a majority of lawful votes cast during the March 18 gubernatorial election.
Ombugadu, a former member of the House of Representatives, was deemed the election’s rightful winner by the Tribunal.
Meanwhile, the justices are waiting for the verdict to be delivered.