Journalists not employed by state or national media outlets were not permitted to enter the courtroom as the Sokoto Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal was scheduled to issue its ruling on Saturday.
Gov. Ahmad Aliyu’s victory in the March 18 governorship election is being contested by the Peoples Democratic Party and Saidu Umar, their candidate.
As the court premises were guarded by heavily armed security personnel, journalists had to pass through strict security checks when they arrived as early as 7:00AM. This made access to the court a very challenging task.
Only journalists from the Nigerian Television Authority and the state-owned media were allowed into the courtroom, according to the Directorate of State Security Services Head, who was speaking to reporters there.
Later, a reporter from the News Agency of Nigeria was permitted to enter the courtroom with other reporters.
