Surprise Twist: Court of Appeal’s CTC Affirms Gov. Abba Yusuf’s Victory, APC Hit with N1m Penalty

In a surprising twist, as reported by Daily Nigerian, the certified true copy (CTC) of the Court of Appeal’s judgment has revealed a stark contradiction to its initial pronouncement last Friday. Contrary to upholding the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s decision, the appellate court, according to Daily Nigerian, has indeed set aside the tribunal’s judgment.

During Friday’s judgment, the Court of Appeal seemingly endorsed the tribunal’s declaration of Nasiru Gawuna, the APC candidate, as the winner of the governorship election. However, the recently released CTC on Tuesday presented conflicting statements within the judgment.

Surprisingly, the appellate court not only contradicted its previous stance but also imposed a N1,000,000 cost against the APC in favour of the NNPP, deviating from its earlier announcement on Friday.

While one part of the judgment favored the APC, stating, “the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favor of the 1st respondent (APC),” it paradoxically contradicted itself, stating, “I resolve all the issues in favor of the appellant (NNPP) and against the 1st respondent (APC).”

In a perplexing twist, the court concluded, “Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed,” only to ultimately set aside the tribunal’s judgment that initially removed the governor from office.

Recall that the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal ousted Governor Abba Yusuf on September 20 and declared Nasiru Gawuna of the APC as the winner of the March 18 governorship poll. The governor, dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, sought redress from the Court of Appeal, leading to this unexpected and contradictory turn of events.