Freshly obtained certified true copies of court documents from the Federal High Court in Kano have confirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) withheld publication of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate’s name in compliance with an interim court order.
The documents, relating to Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/440/2026, indicate that the electoral commission was restrained from publishing the name of any candidate on the NDC’s governorship list for the 2027 Kano election pending the hearing of a substantive motion.
The suit was instituted by three aggrieved NDC members, Garba Umar Isa, Yau Nasiru and Atiku Jamilu Abubakar, against INEC and the NDC.
The applicants approached the court through an ex parte motion filed on October 17, 2026, challenging the process through which the party’s governorship candidate, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, were allegedly selected.
The applicants reportedly faulted what they described as the unilateral decision by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, to nominate Gwarzo as the governorship candidate and his son, Mustapha, as the deputy governorship candidate.
In his ruling delivered on October 27, 2026, Justice Amobeda ordered INEC, its agents, officers and representatives to refrain from publishing the name of any candidate on the NDC governorship list for the 2027 Kano election pending the determination of the motion on notice.
The court also restrained the commission from tampering with, altering, adding to or removing any name from its final governorship candidates’ list, published on or about October 10, 2026, pending the hearing of the motion.
Justice Amobeda further directed that the court order and accompanying processes be served on the defendants, while ordering an accelerated hearing of the matter.
The case was initially adjourned to November 2, 2026, for hearing.
However, proceedings could not continue on Monday after counsel to Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo approached the court with an application seeking to have him joined as a party to the suit.
Following the development, the court adjourned the matter until November 16, 2026.
The court documents provide a legal explanation for INEC’s decision not to publish the NDC governorship candidate’s name, amid political controversy and allegations surrounding the omission from the commission’s updated list of candidates for the 2027 elections.
The development means that publication of the NDC’s governorship candidate’s name remains subject to further judicial proceedings and the eventual determination of the dispute.