The Court of Appeal has reaffirmed its decision to remove Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano state from office. Mr. Umar Bangari, the Chief Registrar of the appellate court, reiterated that the certified true copy of the judgment affirms the victory of Governor Yusuf of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).

Addressing the controversy surrounding the judgment, Bangari clarified that a clerical error in a portion of the certified true copy did not alter the unanimous decision of the three-member panel of justices that ousted Governor Yusuf. 

He pointed out that the correction of this clerical error could be made once the concerned parties formally submitted an application to that effect. According to Bangari, Order 23, Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Handbook grants the appellate court the authority to rectify any clerical errors upon detection.

The Chief Registrar emphasized that, contrary to social media speculations, the court’s judgment remains valid.

“What happened in the part of the judgment is just a mere clerical error that ought not to draw any issue.

“The court is empowered to correct such clerical error and that will be done as appropriate.” 

While the court had clarified the situation, saying it was a typo error, the Kano State Justice Commissioner Haruna Dederi argued that such a development is “scandalous”.

Speaking on Channels TV, he said, “What is a typographical error? Does it affect one word? Does it affect two words? Does it affect three words? How can a typographical error affect whole paragraphs? This is something that cannot be accepted by any discernible mind as I have said.

“This is something that is outrageously scandalous and it cannot be accepted. We are not satisfied.”

The Commissioner, who said the controversy surrounding the judgment “has now been shifted to the Supreme Court,” believes “it would be resolved there”.

Even with the clarification from the Appeal Court, he asserted that the currently circulating copy of the Certified True Copy (CTC) is the only version available as the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

“There is no corrected version,” he said, insisting that the claims of typo error about the CTC “is not tenable. It cannot be accepted”.

Governor Yusuf and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict and hope to get justice.