The All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Haruna Dederi, the Kano State Attorney General, demanding a retraction or presentation of evidence regarding his claim that the Appeal Court justices involved in the Kano governorship election judgment were compromised. The party, through its Kano State chairman, Hon. Abdullahi Abbas, has urged Dederi to identify individuals who allegedly interfered in the judgment, warning of potential legal consequences.
Abbas conveyed this ultimatum in a petition dated November 23, addressed to Dederi and titled “Injurious, malicious and false statement against the judiciary and our party on a live television program and a voice note going round in the social media: Demand for retraction.” The petition referred to Dederi’s appearance on the Channels Television breakfast show on November 23, during which he accused the Judges of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal justices of corruption. Specifically, Dederi claimed that the Tribunal’s decision to deliver judgment via Zoom was due to external interference.
In the petition, Abbas insisted that Dederi must reveal the names of those allegedly involved in influencing the courts’ judgments within the given 48-hour timeframe. Failure to comply would result in legal action, including filing a petition with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee and pursuing a defamation lawsuit against Dederi in court. Abbas emphasized that such actions were necessary to protect his and the party’s reputation from the damage caused by Dederi’s statements, unless a public apology and retraction were issued.