By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – Lawyers, under the umbrella of the Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law (GDRL), have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-register the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) due to reported violent behaviour and alleged threats against tribunal judges in Kano state.

The appeal follows a controversial tribunal judgment that removed the state’s NNPP Governor Abbah Yusuf from office.

Augustine Aaron Ugboha, Esq, a representative of the GDRL, in a press briefing after the submission of a petition to INEC, explained that the move has become necessary in the wake of the party’s anti-democratic tendencies, intimidation, violence, arson, and killings.

These actions are alleged to be linked to the Kwankwasiyya political movement, a group within the NNPP.

“Our democracy is under serious threat by the Kwankwasiyya political movement, which employs every anti-democratic tendency in pursuit of their political interests,” Ugboha stated.

He expressed grave concern over the group’s disruptive nature, especially after the tribunal decision that declared Nasir Gawuna Yusuf of APC the validly elected governor of Kano state.

Highlighting the severity of the situation, Ugboha cited a statement from Baffa Abdullahi Bichi, the Secretary to the Kano State Government and a member of the Kwankwasiyya movement, who reportedly declared, “there will be no peace in Nigeria if the tribunal judgment is against us.”

The GDRL’s outcry was further fueled by a recent episode involving the Kano State Election petition tribunal.

Justice Benson Anya, a member of the tribunal, criticized the Kwankwasiyya Group for threatening the peace in Kano state and intimidating the tribunal.

The group even dared to threaten him with a petition before the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC).

On this basis, the GDRL is urging INEC to act in line with Section 227 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The section provides that no association should retain, organize, train, or equip any person or group of persons to promote any political objective or interest in such a violent manner,” Ugboha explained.

He stressed that INEC should immediately de-register the NNPP until it purges itself of the Kwankwasiyya movement, which he referred to as a “cankerworm.”

The GDRL’s call for action has put a spotlight on the simmering tensions within Nigeria’s political landscape, and it remains to be seen how INEC and other authorities will respond to these serious allegations.