Court restrains APC on Kaduna Central senatorial primary poll
Senator Shehu Sani
Despite the clearance given to the Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Shehu Sani, by the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek a second term in the Senate, another barricade has been put on the path of the activist.A Kaduna High Court yesterday restrained APC from conducting any primary election to select the party’s candidate for the seat pending the determination of the suit brought before it.
Delivering a ruling on an ex-parte motion in the suit filed by Uba Sani, a senatorial aspirant in the district, the court ordered APC, its chairman Adams Oshiomhole, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Shehu Sani to maintain the status-quo prior October 2, 2018, when “the APC National Chairman unlawfully excluded” Uba Sani and other aspirants from the contest in favour of one aspirant.
In a motion brought pursuant to Order 15(1) and Order 36 of the High Court Civil Procedure Rules of Kaduna State, the court granted the leave to issue and serve the writ of summons on the defendants.
Counsel to Uba Sani, Sule Shuaibu, explained that his client took the step to protect his democratic rights after exhausting the internal party grievance-redress processes, adding, “Upon becoming aware of his unlawful exclusion, Uba Sani wrote and submitted a letter of complaint to the National Chairman, urging him to reverse the decision. He followed up with a letter to the Appeal Committee, stating clearly that having fulfilled all the conditions for contesting the primary election, his unlawful exclusion should be set aside and he be allowed to contest the primary election.”
Shuaibu prayed the court for “An order granting leave to the applicant to issue and serve the writ of summons in this suit out of Kaduna State and on the first, second and third defendants in the FCT Abuja and to mark same as concurrent writ of summons.
“An order of interim injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies or assigns or anyone else by whatever name called from taking further steps towards conducting primary elections to elect candidate of the first Defendant for the Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone (Zone 2) Kaduna State.”
Meanwhile, following the attack by hoodlums in Kaduna metropolis after the declaration of Senator Shehu Sani as APC candidate for the senatorial zone in 2019 elections, some party members accused Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his political adviser, Uba Sani, of allegedly masterminding the mayhem.
Violence broke out immediately the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party declared the Senator as the APC candidate as hoodlums took over the state secretariat along Ali Akilu road, brandishing cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.
The irate mob also attacked motorists, smashed windscreen of vehicles causing panic as pedestrians scampered in different directions for safety.However, a group of APC supporters, going by the name of Shehu Sani Solidarity Group, addressed a press conference at the secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna, alleging that El-Rufai and his political adviser contracted the hoodlums to unleash the attacks.
The chairman of the group, Alhaji Ado Mohammad Sani, said: “We are optimistic that in the last three and half years the citizens and electorates in Kaduna State are in quagmire or comatose state of the leadership of Nasiru El-Rufai over sponsorship of thuggery and violence in the state through his political adviser in person of Uba Sani, considering the level of sacrifices made by Senator Shehu Sani In APC as well as at the Red Chambers which is seen to be unrivalled or unprecedented in the history of representation in Kaduna central Senatorial District.”
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