Kano: “It’s Not a Clerical Error”, Kperogi Levels Heavy Allegation Against Appeal Court's Justices

• Columnist and academic, Farooq Kperogi, has said the confusion in the certified true copy (CTC) of the Appeal Court's judgement on the Kano state governorship election dispute is not a clerical error
• Prof. Kperogi stated this while commenting on the confusion that trailed the release of the certified true copy of the judgement
• According to the media scholar, the Appeal Court's CTC on the Kano state governorship ruling is "a classic case of a pre-written judgement gone wrong"

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 6-year-experience covering politics in Nigeria

Kano, Kano state - Professor Farooq Kperogi has spoken on the confusion over the contradictory judgement of the Court of Appeal in the Kano governorship case.

Legit.ng recalls that the Appeal Court recently nullified Kano state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf’s election.

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Kano guber judgement pre-written, Kperogi insists

Consequently, the appellate court declared his closest challenger, Nasiru Gawuna, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the March 18 governorship election.

However, the CTC of the judgement issued by the Court of Appeal said Yusuf won the election.

Speaking on the controversy, Umar Bangari, the chief registrar of the Court of Appeal, claimed that the disparity was a clerical error that had no bearing on the court’s ruling.

Sharing his thoughts on the controversy, Kperogi said "it is evident that the appeal court judges at some point dug deep into their consciences and ruled in favour of justice by vacating the judgement of the lower court that overturned NNPP’s victory".

According to him, "something later contaminated their (the justices') consciences, which compelled them to rewrite their judgment.

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Writing in his weekly column on Saturday, November 25, Kperogi noted:

"In rewriting their judgement, however, they neglected to clean up everything they had written. What we see as “contradictions”—or what they call “clerical errors”— are merely surviving remnants of their previously unspoiled consciences. Only someone who doesn’t understand English would call entire meaningful sentences “clerical errors.”

Quoting a law dictionary, Kperogi said a clerical error is a small mistake made when writing or copying something down, like typing the wrong number or misspelling a word.

He wrote:

"It's not a big mistake that affects the outcome of a case. Courts can fix clerical errors even after a judgement has been made. It's like when you accidentally write the wrong letter in a word and then go back to fix it.

"Quashing a previous judgement and recommending that the appellant be paid 1 million naira can’t be a clerical error. It is exactly what happens when two different judgments are merged into one and the expurgation of some parts of the judgement weren’t done tidily. It’s a classic case of a pre-written judgement gone wrong."

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Appeal court insists on judgement sacking Kano governor, Abba Yusuf

'Verdict removing Abba predetermined': Kperogi

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Kperogi said in fighting to wrest power from Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdullahi Ganduje is using President Bola Tinubu and Nigeria’s courts as "cudgels".

Kperogi, in a piece on Saturday, November 18, described the Appeal Court’s judgement that affirmed the sack of Governor Yusuf as “a predictable, premeditated, and carefully choreographed judicial charade”.

Gov Yusuf remains sacked

Legit.ng also reported that the Court of Appeal insisted on its judgement sacking Governor Yusuf.

The chief registrar of the appellate court, Umar Bangari, restated that the certified true copy of the judgement confirmed the sacking of Gov Yusuf of the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP).

Source: Legit.ng