The Supreme Court judgement affirming the election of Engineer Abdullahi Sule as governor of Nasarawa State has led to protest in Lafia, the state capital, Friday afternoon.
The court ruled that the appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate Ombugadu Emmanuel, has no merit, and therfore dismissed it.
The protesters completely blocked the Lafia-Jos Road, by setting up bonfires in front of the state secretariat of the PDP, thus barricading the road.
The Lafia-Jos highway which also links the north and eastern parts of the country has been completely blocked.
The protest has forced motorists to diver to other routes in the state capital.
The mob has been chanting war songs, alleging that the judgement delivered by the Supreme Court was induced by some prominent monarch some days ahead of the declaration.
The state election petition tribunal had removed the governor and declared Ombugadu, the winner of the March 18, 2023 election.
But the appeal court reinstated Sule, saying the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the PDP witnesses, whose statements on oath were not front-loaded alongside the petition.
Emmanuel rejected the ruling by the appellate court and headed to the Supreme Court for redress, but the apex court failed him and instead affirmed the Appeal Court ruling, which led to protest.
It was learned that security operatives have been deployed to calm and ensuring no escalation.
Shops, banks and other business centres including schools within the Lafia metropolis were hurriedly closed down.
Following this development, residents have called for the deployment of more security operatives to restore calm in the state.
