Jigawa ADC Dispute Grows as Rep Candidate Challenges Aregbesola's Aide

The legal fight over the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary election for the Hadejia/Auyo/Kafin Hausa Federal Constituency in Jigawa State has taken a new turn in the Federal High Court. A party official, Mansur Kanya, has written to the court denying any involvement in the controversial election.

The trouble started when Baffa Suleiman swore an affidavit, claiming he won the primary election held on 25 May 2025, and not Zakari Alhaji-Sidi.

Mr Suleiman said that Mr Kanya was the collation officer who announced him as the winner. But Mr Kanya has denied this.

In a surprising twist, Mr Kanya submitted an affidavit stating that he was in Kaduna State on national party duty during the Jigawa primaries. He said he could not have collated results or declared Mr Suleiman the winner.

The plaintiff, Mr Alhaji-Sidi, known as Zakari Kafin-Hausa, won the party's primary in May. However, he was later replaced by Mr Suleiman, who is an aide to ADC National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola.

In Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1655/2026, Mr Sidi is asking the court to interpret and enforce Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.

He named the ADC as the 1st Defendant, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 2nd Defendant, and Mr Suleiman as the 3rd Defendant.

The latest court filing was prepared by Mr Sidi's legal team, led by Suleh Umar (SAN). This was a response to counter-affidavits from the 1st and 3rd defendants filed on 10 and 16 August.

Mr Sidi insists that Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the ward and local government results from INEC confirmed his victory.

On the other hand, he argues that Mr Suleiman's claims rely on just one document, Exhibit "BSS1," which he says lacks the foundational collation results from the three local government areas. He called it fabricated.

The filing claims that the ADC, as the keeper of the primary election records, failed to present ward and local government result sheets to challenge the INEC-certified documents.

Mr Sidi invoked Section 167(d) of the Evidence Act 2011. He asked the court to assume that the defendants withheld documents because they would be bad for their case.

To dispute the validity of Exhibit "BSS1," Mr Sidi presented Exhibit "AM2," an official letter showing Mr Kanya's assignment to the Kaduna State Appeal Committee during the Jigawa primaries.

Mr Sidi also noted a congratulatory message from Mr Kanya. This message supported Mr Sidi's position and aimed to clear Mr Kanya's name.

Regarding the ADC's concerns about name discrepancies, Mr Sidi explained that ward officials recorded his victory using his popular nickname, "Zakari Kafin-Hausa," not his formal name, Zakari Alhaji-Sidi, which he used for nomination forms.

Mr Sidi filed an Affidavit of Reconciliation of Names (Exhibit "1"). He argued that the party should not use a mistake made by its own officials to deny him the nomination.

He cited Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases, including Amaechi v. INEC and Buhari v. PDP. Mr Sidi asked the court to give more weight to the independent report from INEC, which is the neutral monitoring body under Section 84(1) of the Electoral Act.

Mr Sidi is asking the court to reject the arguments of the 1st and 3rd Defendants, support the INEC-certified primary election results, and declare him the rightful ADC candidate for the Hadejia/Auyo/Kafin Hausa Federal Constituency.

The case has been postponed to 22 October for hearing and final written addresses.