APC: Trending CTC reports affirming Abba Yusuf as Kano Governor ‘typographical error’

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that trending Court of Appeal Certified True Copy (CTC) judgement affirming the governorship election of Abba Yusuf of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the duly elected governor of Kano State is an error.
Prof. Abdulkarim Kanna, APC National Legal Adviser, said this while speaking with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja at the party’s national secretariat.
There was confusion in Kano State on Tuesday with the emergence of a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Court of Appeal judgement on the state governorship election.
The widely reported verdict of the court on November 17 indicated that the appellate court upheld the decision of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sacking Governor Abba Yusuf.
However, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Haruna Isa-Dederi, argued that the CTC of the judgement showed that Yusuf’s victory at the poll was affirmed by the Appeal Court.
Isa-Dederi, at a news conference on Tuesday night, said as indicated in the written judgement, the Court of Appeal set aside the judgement of the Kano Election Petition Tribunal for lacking in merit.
But the APC National Legal Adviser described the development as a mere typographical error that would be corrected by the court.
“We woke up this morning and we are confronted with media reports from different news outlets, mostly print media.
“And a few social media posts where the controversy was identified in the released CTC of the judgement of the Court of Appeal that was delivered on November 17, 2023, here in Abuja.
“However, those of us who are lawyers know that typographic errors often occur in Certified True Copy of court judgements.
“Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been a confusion if it was probably not a political matter because it will not be the first time such typographic mistakes will be seen in judgements.
“And being lawyers, we are used to a situation like this; all that is done is to merely correct that mistake. The most important thing is a judgement that was read in open court,” Kanna said.
He added that such typographical error was not new within the court system.
Kanna further added that the pronouncement by the three justices at the Appeal Court who concurred with the lead judgement was enough confirmation rather than the false narratives trending on social media.
He said the merits and other facts of judgement of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which was delivered on September 28 was upheld by the Appeal Court.
He further added that reading through the entirety of the judgement from lead justice and submissions of different cited cases one could get an idea of what should be the conclusion.
Kanna said the Appeal Court affirmed the tribunal’s decision which declared APC governorship candidate Yusuf Gawuna as duly elected governor of Kano state.
The APC national legal adviser assured that the party would formally request for the CTC of the Appeal Court judgement, adding that whatever error was made may had been corrected.