Shinkafi Accuses INEC Of Defying Court Order, Demands Withdrawal of Ya’u As APC Candidate
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and aspirant for the Zamfara North Senatorial District, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of defying a Federal High Court judgment by publishing Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as the party’s candidate for the district.
Shinkafi, through his lawyers, is demanding the immediate withdrawal of Ya’u’s name, citing the August 31, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Gusau, which nullified the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 19 and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary.
The suit, marked FHC/GS/CS/6/2026, was instituted by Shinkafi against the APC, INEC and Ya’u over the process that produced Ya’u as the party’s candidate. Earlier reports had documented Shinkafi’s challenge to the primary and his demand for a fresh exercise involving all cleared aspirants.
In a statement, Shinkafi faulted INEC for publishing Ya’u’s name despite what he described as a subsisting court order, arguing that the commission had been served with a certified true copy of the judgment.
The Federal High Court, according to the judgment cited by Shinkafi’s lawyers, set aside the May 19 primary and directed the APC to conduct a fresh primary for all cleared aspirants within 14 days. It also ordered INEC to accept and publish the name of the candidate who emerges from the fresh exercise.
Shinkafi described INEC’s action as an assault on the rule of law and urged the commission to comply with the court’s directive.
“Publishing any candidate’s name prior to a fresh primary election ordered by the court or the determination of the matter at the appellate court undermines the judiciary and violates electoral jurisprudence,” he said.
In a letter dated September 18, 2026, YAS Law Firm, representing Shinkafi, formally notified the INEC Chairman of what it described as the “unlawful publication” of Ya’u’s name.
The lawyers argued that the court had ruled that due process was not followed in the May 19 primary and that the exercise was therefore null and void.
They further stated that the judgment directed the APC to conduct a fresh primary and required INEC to accept and publish the candidate who validly emerges from the new exercise.
The lawyers urged INEC to withdraw the publication of Ya’u’s name and stay further action on his candidacy pending either the conduct of the fresh primary or the final determination of the matter by the appellate courts.
Shinkafi also warned that failure to comply with the judgment could undermine public confidence in the electoral process and weaken respect for judicial decisions.
The dispute over the Zamfara North ticket began after the APC’s May 19 primary, which Shinkafi challenged in court. Reports at the time said he alleged that he neither withdrew from the contest nor endorsed Ya’u as a consensus candidate.
The latest development places the APC’s Zamfara North senatorial nomination under renewed legal scrutiny as preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.
