Full list of Governors sacked by court so far

The 2023 general election in Nigeria has remained one of the historic and dynamic polls in the country's political history, with strong participation from the youths and the emergence of third forces that made strong statements during the process.

Despite the criticism of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary, the election was not the usual narrative between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The third forces, the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), challenged the status quo. They made landmark victories by winning the governorship, national and state assembly seats in some states.

Some political observers attributed the development to the neutrality and credibility of the electoral umpire, INEC.

Barely nine months after the election, the judiciary has also proved its worth, as it has sacked at least four governors despite arguments from the parties.

Below is the list of the governors that have been sacked so far:

Alex Otti

Elected under the Labour Party, Alex Otti was the first governor sacked by the Federal High Court sitting in Kano.

The court, in suit number FHC/KN/CS/107/2023, filed by one Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim, nullified the candidature of Otti and other Labour Party candidates that won at the poll over the failure of their party to submit the list of its members to INEC 30 days before the election.

But in October, the Court of Appeal sitting in Kano dismissed the judgment of the lower court and upheld the candidature of the governor and other Labour Party candidates.

Abba Kabir Yusuf

The Kano state governor was another product of revolution in the March 18 governorship election, but his victory has been shattered by the tribunal sitting in the state.

The court earlier declared Nasir Yusuf Gawuna of the APC as the authentic winner of the poll. Justice Oluyemi Osadebay-led panel sacked Governor Yusuf on September 20, when 165,663 of his votes were declared invalid as they were neither signed nor stamp by INEC.

The court then reduced the votes of the NNPP candidate to 853,939 while Gawuna's 890,705 votes did not change.

However, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja also affirmed the judgment of the tribunal on the redress sought by Governor Yusuf over his sacking by the Kano state governorship election petition tribunal.

Abdullahi Sule

The governorship tribunal sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital, sacked Governor Sule of the APC and declared David Ombugadu of the PDP as the winner of the guber election in the state.

Two of the judges agreed that Governor Sule did not win the election while one other member of the tribunal had a dissenting opinion.

However, the governor has appealed the judgment and he is expected to know his fate before the end of November.

Dauda Lawal

The PDP governor of Zamfara state became the latest casualty when the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja declared his election inconclusive.

Lawal had earlier won at the governorship election tribunal sitting in Gusau, the state capital, but Bello Matawalle and the APC, who are the petitioners, sought for a redress at the appellate court.

The Court of Appeal on Thursday, November 16, ordered INEC to conduct a rerun in three local governments of the state, which are Maradun, Birnin Magaji and Bukuyun.