Tribunal judgement: Mass prayer session in Kano as fear grips Gov Yusuf, Kwankwaso

Ahead of the judgment of Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, the governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf and his political godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Saturday, staged a mass prayer session for the success of their party .

The prayer session, which took place at a sports complex as a result of seeming fear on what will be the outcome of the tribunal, was led by a cleric, Sani Ashir, and attended by thousands of supporters of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and top government officials.

Addressing the prayer session, Mr Shir described those challenging the election of the state’s governor, Mr Yusuf, as enemies of the state, and prayed for God to destroy them.

“We are gathered here to pray for our leaders whom we willingly voted for. We seek God’s protection and guidance on them.

“The enemies of the people are coming and planning to undermine our leaders. Defeat and destroy them all. Destroy the enemies of Kano State who are trying to steal the mandate of the people through the back door.

“The treasury looters and election riggers are yet to concede defeat. They are in the court. We pray for success at the election tribunal, and all other seats being contested in the court by our members (NNPP). We pray for a successful end,” the cleric said at the gathering attended by Mr Kwankwaso and the governor.

The cleric also poured praises on the governor, whom he claimed had provided dividends of democracy to the residents of the state.

Ban on gathering over tribunal judgement
The police in Kano State, on Monday, banned all forms of protests being planned by the members of the NNPP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in preparation for the governorship election tribunal judgement in the state.

Tension is high in the state over the planned outcome of the governorship election tribunal judgement as both the members of the ruling NNPP and opposition APC are optimistic about their candidate’s chances at the tribunal.

The representatives of the NNPP and APC submitted their final address at the court on Monday, while the tribunal chairperson, Flora Azinge, reversed to announce the date of the final judgement day as expected.

The tribunal had earlier accused an unnamed Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of attempting to bribe her with N10 billion to temper with justice in the course of delivering judgment.

The police accused both the NNPP and APC of deliberate plans to foment trouble by sponsoring protests in the state.

The police commissioner in the state, Muhammad Gumel, in a statement, said the command had banned all forms of protest to prevent possible clashes and uprisings.