Kano gov saga: Court of Appeal document reveals Yusuf as winner, contradicts oral verdict

The Kano State government is in a state of confusion following the release of a certified true copy (CTC) of the Court of Appeal judgement on the 2023 governorship election in the state, which affirmed that Kabiru Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was the rightful winner of the poll.

This was disclosed by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Haruna Isa-Dederi, who briefed the press on Tuesday in Kano.

Isa-Dederi said the written judgement, which was released on Tuesday and signed by Registrar Jameel Ibrahim Umar, showed that the Court of Appeal overturned the verdict of the Kano election petition tribunal that had nullified Yusuf’s victory for lack of merit.

“The CTC of the Appeal Court judgement on page 67 clearly stated that the tribunal’s decision that sacked Yusuf was reversed by the appellate court,” he said.

The court said in the CTC, “The judgment of the Tribunal in Petition No: PT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between All Progressives Congress (APC) Vs Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) & 2 Others, delivered on the 20th day of September 2023, is hereby set aside.”

The court also ordered the APC to pay the cost of the appeal, creating more confusion and shock for the APC and its governorship candidate, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna.

Dederi said the written judgement contradicted what the judges read in the court room on the 17th November, which upheld the election of Gawuna. He said the written evidence proved that Yusuf was the legitimate governor of Kano State.

The state attorney general said this new development would boost their case at the Supreme Court.

In it’s reactions, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was shocked to this new development because it claimed that the certified true copy of the Court of Appeal judgement is fake and forged. According to APC, the oral verdict that upheld the election of Nasir Yusuf Gawuna as the governor of Kano state is the authentic one

The APC has also accused the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and its candidate, Kabiru Yusuf, of conniving with some judicial officers to manipulate the CTC of the judgement. The APC has vowed to challenge the CTC at the Supreme Court and expose the alleged fraud

The APC has also expressed confidence that it will win the case at the Supreme Court, saying that it has overwhelming evidence to prove that Gawuna won the governorship election fair and square. The APC has urged its supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, and not to be provoked by the NNPP and its supporters