Kano tribunal orders arrest of attackers of INEC witness

Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has ordered the arrest of attackers of an official of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), Hajia Halima Sambo Hassan, who had given evidence, a day earlier in respect of the conduct of the election.

While decrying the attack of the witness as barbaric, tribunal chairman, Justice Halima Shamaki, directed security agencies in the state to promptly investigate the incident and ensure the culprits are to brought to book.

She declared that the tribunal would not tolerate any act of contempt from supporters of political parties nor condone the slightest threat to its proceedings.

“If the life of a witness is threatened, we cannot sit down and pretend that all is well. I want to warn seriously that I have a letter in my file, written by lead counsel in this matter requesting the tribunal to sit in Abuja. They said that Kano is not safe.” she threatened to relocate the sitting of the tribunal to Abuja in the event of a repeat of the reported incident.

Earlier, counsel representing INEC, Adedayo Adedeji, had informed the tribunal that Halima Sambo Hassan was subjected to harassment and intimidation.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kano State has condemned the incident.

Counsel representing the candidate of the party at the tribunal, Maliki Kuliya Umar called on supporters to respect the sanctity of the court of law.