Appeal Court Clarifies Kano Judgment Controversy, Attributing the Issue to a Typographical Error

 

The Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, addressed the issue surrounding the Court of Appeals judgment on the Kano State governorship election on November 22. He clarified that there is no controversy despite various interpretations arising from a discrepancy between the oral pronouncement in open court and the contents of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment.

During the open court session, the three-member panel, led by M. A. Adumein, affirmed the decision of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which nullified the election of Governor Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party. However, the concluding part of the CTC indicated that the matter was resolved against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party, in a press briefing in Abuja, accused the Court of Appeal of altering the judgment post-deliberations. Responding to the controversies, Bangari released a statement explaining that the inconsistency in the CTC was a mere clerical error.

He emphasized that such clerical errors could be rectified by the court, as per the authority granted under Order 23 Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Handbook. Bangari reassured that the court would address the error appropriately once formal applications from concerned parties were submitted, asserting that, contrary to speculations, the judgment remained valid.