Certified court documents have clarified why the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) withheld the name of Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, from its list of candidates for the 2027 election.
The documents show that the Federal High Court in Kano restrained INEC from publishing the name of any candidate submitted by the NDC for the governorship election pending the hearing of a motion challenging the party’s nomination process.
The interim order was issued on October 27, 2026, by Justice Samuel Amobeda in Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/440/2026.
The case was filed by three NDC members — Garba Umar Isa, Yau Nasiru and Atiku Jamilu Abubakar — who challenged the emergence of Gwarzo as the party’s governorship candidate and Mustapha Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.
The applicants alleged that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had influenced the nomination process by selecting Gwarzo and his son, Mustapha, for the governorship and deputy governorship positions.
The allegations have yet to be determined by the court.
In granting the interim reliefs, Justice Amobeda restrained INEC and its agents from publishing the names of candidates for the NDC governorship ticket in Kano State until the hearing of the motion on notice, unless the order is varied or discharged.
The court also barred the commission from altering the governorship candidates’ list published around October 10, 2026, pending the hearing of the application.
Court case adjourned
The matter was initially scheduled for November 2, but proceedings could not go ahead after counsel representing Gwarzo applied to have him joined as a party to the suit.
The application introduced another procedural issue for the court to consider.
Justice Amobeda subsequently adjourned the case until November 16 for further proceedings and ordered an accelerated hearing.
INEC’s updated list had included the NDC among parties contesting the Kano governorship election but left the spaces for its governorship and deputy governorship candidates blank, with the notation “Court Order”.
The omission had raised questions about whether Gwarzo had been disqualified or whether the commission had rejected his nomination.
The court documents indicate that the omission was linked to the interim order and does not, in itself, amount to a final judgment invalidating Gwarzo’s nomination.
The substantive dispute over the NDC’s candidate-selection process remains pending before the court.
Until the order is lifted, varied or otherwise affected by a subsequent judicial decision, INEC is required to comply with the restriction on publishing the party’s Kano governorship candidates.
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