Following the Hague Institute for Innovative Law that respect for the rule of law and justice was declining in Nigeria, the court of appeal has further exposed itself to the world.
Contrary to its Friday pronouncement upholding the judgement of the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, the certified true copy of the Court of Appeal judgment however revealed that the appellate court had set aside the judgement of the lower tribunal.
The Court of Appeal had in its Friday judgement read by the chairman of the panel, Justice Moore Adumein, upheld the judgement of the tribunal, declaring APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as winner of the governorship election in the state.
But when the certified true copy of the judgement was released by the court on Tuesday, our reporter observed a number of contradictory declarations in the judgement.
In the CTC, duly signed by the three justices, the appellate court went further to award the N1,000,0000 cost in favour of the NNPP and against the APC as against its Friday pronouncement.
In one instance, the appellate court declared “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the 1st respondent (APC) and against the appellant (Governor Abba Yusuf)”, but went further to contradict itself in another sentence.
The court said: “In the circumstances, I resolve all the issues in favour of the appellant (NNPP) and against the 1st respondent (APC).”
The court further shot itself on the foot, declaring “Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed.”
But in the final line of the judgement, the court set aside the judgement of the tribunal, which sacked the governor.
“The judgment of the tribunal In Petition No.: EPT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between: ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 ORS. delivered on the 20th day of September, 2023 is hereby set aside,” the CTC of the judgement read.
Recall that the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on September 20 sacked the governor and declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nasiru Gawuna, winner of the March 18 governorship poll.
Dissatisfied by the lower tribunal’s decision, the governor, through his counsel Wole Olanipekun, asked the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal.
But the court of appeal in a unanimous ruling on Friday said the governor was not a valid candidate in the March 18 gubernatorial election.
Although a presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga had denied involvement of the presidency in the case, sources however told this newspaper that the justices had initially prepared a judgement in favour of the NNPP but forces in the presidency allegedly coerced them into changing the judgement hours before reading.
The sources further said that the contradictory declarations as well as the four-day delay in releasing the full judgement might not be unconnected with the sudden u-turn of the justices.
