THERE is confusion over the released Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Appeal Court judgment on the Kano state governorship election as a portion of the report affirmed the victory of Abba Yusuf as the duly elected governor.
The Court of Appeal’s written judgment set aside the Kano election petition tribunal’s judgment for lacking merit.
On page 67 of the CTC, sighted by The ICIR on Tuesday, November 21, and signed by the Registrar, Jameel Ibrahim Umar, the court upheld the victory of Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
The ICIR had reported that the Court of Appeal in Abuja sacked Yusuf as Kano state governor, affirming the state’s governorship election petitions tribunal ruling.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, November 17, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that Yusuf’s party – the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) – breached the Constitution by sponsoring Yusuf, who was not a party member.
The Appeal Court ruled that the tribunal acted in the public interest when it permitted the APC to tender papers during the trial since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given the APC access to materials piecemeal to undermine the petitioner’s claim.
The court’s three-man bench ruled that each political party must keep track of its voter registration.
According to the court, political parties are required by the 1999 Constitution to maintain a membership register and provide it to INEC and the tribunal upon request.
The court further stated that Abba’s NNPP membership is not registered.
“All issues in this appeal are dismissed, and the judgment of the tribunal is affirmed,” the court stated.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the ruling in the CTC on Tuesday night, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Kano State Haruna Dederi stated that the ruling on page 67 of the certified copy of the judgment made it evident that the tribunal’s decision to dismiss the governor was overturned.
Dederi maintained that written evidence has confirmed Yusuf as the rightful governor of Kano State, despite what the judges read aloud to the public in the courtroom on November 17.
“The evidence contained on page 67 of the copy of the Appeal Court judgment released on Tuesday and signed by registrar Jameel Ibrahim Umar, the appellate court upheld the victory of Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP as duly elected Governor of Kano,” he said.
According to him, contrary to what the judges read to the public in the courtroom on November 17, the written evidence has vindicated Yusuf as the legitimate governor of Kano.
On page 67 of the CTC sighted, the panel headed by Moore Aseimo Abraham Adumein, in its conclusion, said, “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the 1st respondent and against the appellant.”
“In the circumstances, I resolve all the issues in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent. Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal, which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed.
“The sum of N1,000,000.00 (one million naira only) is hereby awarded as costs in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent.”
In this case, Governor Yusuf is the appellant, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the first respondent. The second and third respondents are the NNPP and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The first ruling, which settled the matter in favour of the APC, indicated that the tribunal’s decision was upheld, contrary to the remaining conclusions of the judge, which stated that the tribunal’s decision to remove Yusuf had been overturned and restored his mandate.
According to Sunusi Musa (SAN), a lawyer to the APC candidate Nasiru Gawuna, who spoke with Daily Trust, the panel’s inconsistency was plainly “a typo” and shouldn’t have caused the kind of response it did.
A reporter with the ICIR
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