Appeal Court Allegedly Requests Return of Certified Copy for ‘Correction’ in Kano Governorship Election Ruling; Prof. Odinkalu Expresses Concern

The Court of Appeal involved in the Kano State governorship election case has reportedly reached out to lawyers requesting the return of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of its judgment for ‘correction.’ SK Blog had earlier highlighted the confusion arising from the court’s judgment, which favored Governor Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) and set aside the ruling of the Kano Governorship Election Tribunal.

Law professor and former NHRC Chairman, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, expressed his dismay on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the only plausible explanation for the Appeal Court’s contradictions could be a change in judgment after the conclusion of deliberations.

Odinkalu highlighted the apparent judicial inconsistencies, emphasizing, “The only way to understand or explain this is that the Court of Appeal changed the judgment after they had concluded deliberations. If this does not persuade people as to how bad things are, I don’t know what will.”

Furthermore, he asserted that the reported requests for the return of the judgment for ‘correction’ go beyond the scope of the Slip Rule, indicating what he termed as “Judicial Corruption on the face of the record.”

This development follows the initial report on November 17, where the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal, which had earlier sacked Governor Yusuf, citing a breach of the Electoral Law in the fielding of Abba Yusuf.

The appeal court’s ruling, as per the CTC, seemingly contradicted itself by resolving all issues in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent while simultaneously dismissing the appeal for lacking in merit. The situation raises serious questions about the integrity and transparency of the judicial process in the Kano governorship case.