APC's Doguwa, on trial for murder, wins 5th term in House of Reps

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Doguwa, has finally won the Tudun Wada/Doguwa federal constituency seat of Kano State after a supplementary election on Saturday, April 15, 2023.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will return to the National Assembly for a fifth successive term after he won a total of 41,573 votes.

His closest opponent, Yushau Salisu of the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP), finished the closely-fought election with 34,831 votes.

Doguwa's current run in the House of Representatives started in 2007 and he served as the chief whip of the chamber between 2015 and 2019, and as majority leader since 2019.

His win on Saturday remains under a heavy cloud after he was charged with murder following the first round of the election on February 25.

He was hit with a six-count charge of conspiracy, culpable homicide, causing grievous hurt, arson, inciting public disturbance and unlawful possession of firearms before a Kano Senior Magistrate's Court in March.

The prosecution accused him of leading thugs to burn the office of the NNPP in Tudun Wada Dankadai a day after the February 25 election. Two people reportedly died and six people sustained injuries as a result of the arson.

The prosecution also accused Doguwa of shooting one Ibrahim Dauda to death during the confrontation caused by his protests over cancelled votes.

The veteran lawmaker was released on a ₦500 million bail while the trial continues.