Appeal Court Admits Clerical Error In Kano Judgment’s CTC

The Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, on Wednesday, said there was no contradiction in the court’s judgment on the Kano State governorship election.

There had been several interpretations of the judgment following a discrepancy between what was read out in the open court and the contents of the Certified True Copy of the judgment.

At the open court, the three-member panel led by M. A. Adumein upheld the judgment of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which sacked Governor Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party.

However, in the concluding part of the CTC, it read that the issue was resolved against the APC and its candidate.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party, during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, accused the Court of Appeal of changing the judgment after the judges had concluded deliberations on the matter.

However, reacting to the controversies, Bangari said what happened in the judgment’s Certified True Copy was a clerical error.

He noted that that did not in any way invalidate or change the findings and conclusion of the court on the matter.

The statement partly read, “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 errors and would be done as appropriate.

“The clerical error would be rectified once parties in the matter file formal application to that effect.”

He drew the attention of newsmen to Order 23 Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Handbook which empowers the court to correct any clerical error once detected by the court or any of the parties in the matter.

He, however, insisted that contrary to insinuations, the judgment of the court remains valid.

Punch