In a bold display of defiance, protestors in Kano have taken to the streets, disregarding the police-enforced ban on demonstrations.
The Commissioner of Police for the state, Mohammed Usain Gumel, had issued the ban following calls from both the ruling New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) urging their members to mobilize and protest against alleged judiciary bribery.
During last week’s session of Panel 1 at the Kano National and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, the panel’s chairperson, sounded an alert concerning how lawyers with cases before the panel were attempting to sway her and her fellow panel members’ judgments.
The two parties afterwards traded words, accusing each other of partaking the bribery.
Consequentially, both parties urged their members to mobilize and protest against alleged judiciary bribery.
READ ALSO: Kano Tribunal Draws NNPP, APC Leaders Amid Bribery Claims
Responding in a statement earlier on Monday, Commissioner Gumel said that any disregard for the ban would be treated as a violation of national security.
He stated, “The public should be aware that we have received information that both the APC and the NNPP members are currently assembling a crowd under the banner of Civil Society Coalition, without obtaining clearance from the Nigeria Labour Congress leadership or prior approval from state security agencies.”
He further cautioned, “Both organizers and the coalition must realize that any attempt to undermine the NLC and state security agencies, especially amidst the delicate security situation that is being managed by a joint effort of security forces, is not only uncivil and criminal but also poses a threat to national security.”
Despite the directive, protestors have congregated on the streets and are marching toward the Government House in a determined show of dissent
