It was a ‘clerical error’ – Appeal Court says as it stands by ruling sacking Governor Abba Yusuf

The Court of Appeal affirmed its decision to remove Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State in a ruling issued yesterday.

Yusuf, who ran as the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate in the March 18 governorship election in Kano State, was ousted in favor of Dr. Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as declared by the Kano State Governorship Tribunal.

The NNPP has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the judgment. However, as of press time, there has been no response from the NJC.

Despite reported discrepancies in the Certified True Copy (CTC), the APC dismissed concerns, considering it a non-issue. Kano State witnessed protests following the alleged ‘error’ in the Appeal Court’s judgment, leading to police intervention.

In an attempt to clarify the controversy surrounding its judgment on the Kano State governorship election dispute, the Court of Appeal restated its decision to remove Governor Yusuf.

The court attributed the discrepancies in the CTC, highlighted by Yusuf and the NNPP, as a clerical error, emphasizing that it did not alter the unanimous conclusion of the three-member panel of justices.

The Chief Registrar of the appellate court, Mr. Umar Bangari, explained that the clerical error would be rectified upon formal application from the concerned parties, citing the court’s authority under Order 23, Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Handbook to correct such errors. Despite social media speculations, Bangari affirmed the validity of the court’s judgment, assuring that the correction process would be carried out appropriately.