- Safiu Kehinde
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as the winner of the Bagwai/Shanono State Assembly by-election held in Kano state on Saturday.
As announced by the INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Hassan Shitu, on Sunday, NNPP candidate Ali Alhassan emerged as the winner with 16,198 votes, defeating his closest rival from the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 5,347 votes.
The by-election was necessitated by the death of the former lawmaker representing the constituency, leaving a vacant seat in the Kano State House of Assembly.
However, the NNPP’s victory is marred with election violence reported in some polling units with the Kano State Police Command confirming the arrest of 288 suspected political thugs.
The suspected thugs, armed with different dangerous materials, had on Saturday invaded the polling units, disrupting the electoral process.
On account of the reported violence, the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had called for the cancellation of the election with the former alleging that voters were chased away by the suspected thugs.