…As court admits clerical error in judgments CTC
Protests rocked Kano yesterday, following the sacking of Governor Abba Yusuf by an Appeal Court.
This was as Police dispersed protesters along the ?an-Agundi area of the metropolis yesterday. The fresh protests followed the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement which appeared in public domain and seemed contrary to the verdict of the appellate court. Some of the protesters said they were ready to die, as they demanded justice.
There had been several interpretations of the judgment following a discrepancy between what was read out in the open court, and the contents of the Certified True Copy of the judgment.
At the open court, the three-member panel, led by M. A. Adumein upheld the judgment of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which sacked Governor Kabir Yusuf, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP). However, in the concluding part of the CTC, it read that the issue was resolved against the APC and its candidate.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in March 2023 declared Yusuf, of the NNPP as the winner of the poll; but the State governorship election petitions tribunal sacked him, in September.
Months after the development, the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision. It held that Yusuf was not in the NNPPs register, making him unqualified to contest the election. The court declared the All-Progressives Congress (APC)s Nasiru Gawuna as the winner of the poll, in a move that has caused tensions in the North-West State.
Recall also, that in the last week, the appellate court sacked three governors that INEC declared as winners in the March 2023 poll. All the three governors sacked by the appellate court are in opposition parties.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal Chief Registrar, Umar Bangari, yesterday, said there was no contradiction in the courts judgment on the Kano State governorship election.The NNPP, during a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, had accused the Court of Appeal Court of changing the judgment after the judges had concluded deliberations on the matter.
However, reacting to the controversies, Bangari said what happened in the judgments Certified True Copy was a clerical error. He noted that that did not in any way invalidate or change the findings and conclusion of the court on the matter.
The statement partly read: What happened in the part of the judgment is just a mere clerical error, which ought not to draw any issue. The court is empowered to correct such clerical errors and would be done as appropriate. The clerical error would be rectified once parties in the matter file formal application to that effect.
He drew the attention of newsmen to Order 23 Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Handbook, which empowers the court to correct any clerical error once detected by the court or any of the parties in the matter.
He, however, insisted that contrary to insinuations, the judgment of the court remains valid.
Meanwhile, the Police authorities have vowed to clamp-down on any group protesting in the state following the governor’s sack.
