Protest rocks Nasarawa over Supreme Court’s judgment on gov poll

Aged women including widows on Friday afternoon staged a protest in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital to express their displeasure over the Supreme Court’s judgment which affirmed the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress.

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, David Ombugadu, had dragged Sule to court, challenging his 2023 election victory.

The state election petition tribunal had sacked the governor and declared Ombugadu the winner of the March 18, 2023 election.

But the appeal court reinstated Sule and held that the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the PDP witnesses, whose statements on oath were not front-loaded alongside the petition.

However, at the Supreme Court, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun held that the appeal lacked merit.

A series of protests by women groups have since erupted in the state capital since the announcement of the judgment on Friday.

Our correspondent observed that many roads in the state capital had been blocked, including the ever-busy Lafia-Jos Road due to the protest.

Motorists had to take alternative routes to pass out of Lafia, the state capital.

In an interview with our correspondent, an automobile mechanic in Lafia, who identified himself as Dogo Audu, called for the deployment of more security operatives to restore calm to the area.

Shops and business centres, including schools within the state capital, had also hurriedly closed due to the protests.