Contradictory’ rulings in the CTC of Judgement Sacking Governor Abba Yusuf

The release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Court of Appeal’s decision regarding the dispute regarding the state’s governorship election has left Kano in a state of confusion.

In its decision that was handed down on Friday, the appellate court reaffirmed the dismissal of Abba Kabir Yusuf, who was serving as the governor of the state and was affiliated with the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

On the other hand, the CTC of the judgement that was mentioned by the Daily Trust on Tuesday looked to have many rulings of the court that appeared to be in conflict with one another.

In one of the last paragraphs on page 68 of the lead ruling that Justice Moore Aseimo Abraham Adumein delivered, the judge stated, “I will end by saying that the live issues in this appeal are hereby decided in favour of the 1st respondent and against the appellant.” This was the judge’s conclusion.

For the purposes of this appeal, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is the appellant, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the first respondent, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National National People’s Party (NNPP) are the second and third respondents, respectively.

A further conclusion was reached by the court, who stated, “In light of the facts, I determine all of the questions in favour of the appellant and against the first respondent.”

“Therefore, I do not believe that this appeal has any merit, and it is therefore likely to be rejected and is hereby dismissed.”

The verdict that was handed down by the tribunal in the case of AL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 ORS. on the 20th day of September, 2023, is thus overturned. The petition in question was filed under the number EPT/KN/GOV/01/2023.

“The amount of N1,000,000.00 (one million naira only) is accordingly awarded as costs in favour of the appellant and against the first respondent,” the court said.

The first conclusion, which addressed the questions in favour of APC, meant that the decision of the tribunal was affirmed. This was in contrast to the last three findings of the judge, which were regarded to mean that the tribunal’s decision to dismiss Governor Yusuf had been overturned, thereby restoring his mandate.

The judge stated that “My brother in the leading judgement considered the pleadings of the parties, the evidence adduced in support thereof, along with statutory and judicial authorities cited, quoted, and relied upon, before reaching the inevitable decision that this appeal is bereft of merit.” This statement is even more perplexing because it was made in the consenting judgement that Justice Bitrus G. Sanga delivered on page 69.

“I concur with and adopt as mine the finding and conclusion reached by my learned brother, and I also dismiss this appeal and affirm the decision made by the trial tribunal in its judgement rendered on September 20, 2023 in Petition No. EPT/KN/GOV/01/2023,” the accused stated. “I also adopt as mine the conclusion that my learned brother came to.”

Additionally, Justice Lateef Ganiyu, the third justice on the panel, stated in his consenting opinion on page 72 that “given the circumstances, I am of the serious view that this appeal is liable to be and is hereby dismissed.” This was the conclusion that Justice Ganiyu found to be appropriate. Regarding the expense, I adhere to the sequence that is consequential.

A lawyer who asked not to be named stated that the confusion may just be a typographical error. He insisted that the reasoning of the court in the preceding parts of the judgement aligned with the well-reported decision that Governor Yusuf had been sacked due to his party membership issue. This was despite the fact that many NNPP stalwarts in the state stated that they considered the development to be favourable to their course of action.

A chieftain of the APC informed the Daily Trust that they would be receiving the “updated version” of the document, which confirmed the legitimacy of the CTC.

In addition to stating that “it’s a typographical error that has already been remedied,” he stated that the court has acknowledged the “clerical errors.” The revised version is scheduled to be delivered to us tomorrow, which is Wednesday.