By Ismail Auwal
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has flagged the announcement of Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, as the winner of the Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency election held on Saturday as being made under duress.
This was highlighted on INEC’s website on Monday evening, alongside a list of House members-elect who would be issued certificates of return by the Commission.
The decision might not unconnected to the allegation that Doguwa led thugs who attacked and set fire to the office of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Tudun Wada, Kano, during the collation of results of the presidential and National Assembly elections, resulting in the deaths of several people.
The lawmaker was also accused of killing and injuring others during the raid on the NNPP office.
Doguwa was arrested by the police last week and was taken before a chief magistrate’s court presided over by Ibrahim Mansur, who ordered that his remand in prison custody.
However, a Federal High Court in Kano, presided over by Justice Muhammad Yunusa, granted him bail in the sum of N500m yesterday.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, has vowed that the Commission will not issue certificates of return to candidates whose poll officials announced their results under duress.
Yakubu stressed that “the commission will not tolerate the act of holding our officials hostage and forcing them to declare winners under duress. Where such occurs, the Commission will not reward bad behavior by issuing them Certificates of Return”.
