On Friday, the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal affirmed the sacking of Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as Kano State Governor by the election petition tribunal in the state.

The court then adjudged that Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was the rightful winner of the election.

Confusion, however, ensued days later when the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment was released and its concluding part revealed that the issue had been resolved against the APC and Gawuna.

While addressing the matter, Umar Bangari, the chief registrar of the appellate court, claimed the discrepancy was a “clerical error” that did not in any way affect the court’s initial decision.

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Following the controversy, the NNPP decided to take the matter before the Supreme Court, accusing the Court of Appeal of changing the judgment after the judges had concluded deliberations.

As the development continued to generate a whole lot of debate among Nigerians, FIJ sought the opinion of three lawyers.

‘NOT A CLERICAL ERROR’

Festus Ogun, a human rights lawyer, told FIJ in an interview that he believed the court had not made a clerical error as the registrar claimed.

“What we had in that case was not a clerical error,” said Ogun.

“A clerical error in my respectful view is me typing a word like ‘Danuel’ when in actual fact I intended typing ‘Daniel’. That is an acceptable mistake I believe a clerical staff can make.

“In this instance, however, the Court of Appeal said that the judgment of the tribunal is set aside. That is a major aspect of the contents of the CTC.

“The second one is that the judges said they resolved all the issues in favour of the first appellant and against the respondent.

“The third one is that the sum of one million naira is awarded as cost in favour of the appellant and against the respondent.

“The position of the law is that a court can review its judgment where it is obtained by fraud or in cases of clerical or typographical errors. This is not a case of fraud.

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“When the court is now trying to amend what it has read in open court, that then gives us something to be worried about. I don’t think this falls in the realm of a clerical error. Now we have two versions of the CTC of the judgment.”

Ogun added that it was impossible for a clerk to make such errors on what was said in open court.

‘REGISTRAR TYPED THE WRONG THING’

Ridwan Oke, a Lagos State-based lawyer, saw the issue differently.

“You will realise that what was initially reported was that the court had sacked Abba Yusuf,” Oke said.

“You will also notice that when the judgment came out, that was when there were issues.

“Most times, judges write their judgments out in paper and the registrar types it. After doing so, they take it to the judges to sign.

“It is possible that the registrar typed the wrong thing and the judge did not read it before signing it. These guys are under immense pressure. 

“Normally, they shouldn’t be writing with their hands, everything is analogue, and that is how Nigerian courts are. They are under pressure, and when people bring documents to them, most of them just sign without reading.

“What was read out in court was that the court sacked Abba Yusuf and supported the judgment of the tribunal. What might have happened here is that the judge did not confirm it.

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“I once moved a motion in court that a case be struck out. When the order came out, however, what the registrar had typed was that another lawyer moved the motion. So, it happens. It’s just that at this level, something this controversial should not have happened.

“If the court wanted to rule in favour of the Kano governor, they would have read it out in court.”

‘NIGERIA HAS AGAIN HAPPENED HERE’

When FIJ spoke with Tailorson Nwani, an Ogun State-based lawyer, he shared the same view with Festus Ogun on the matter.

“It was the late Bola Ige that said ‘blessed are those who have no hope for they shall not be disappointed”’, Nwani said.

“The truth of the matter is that you cannot label what happened in Kano as a clerical slip. In my own understanding, the content of that judgment copy is not a product of a clerical error.

“But you know, what have we not seen in Nigeria? Clerical slips normally have to do with wrong spellings and other negligible errors. This, however, cannot just be deemed a clerical error. If you look at the contradictions in the copy, they are so many and obvious.

“When something is certified, it means it has been deemed to be in order. How can you release the certified copy of an important ruling and then turn around to say its contents were typed in error?

“Mind you, it’s not as if the copies were released immediately the judgment was delivered. It was released five days later. And you are now coming to say a clerical error occurred? A clerical error of how many paragraphs?

“What is happening these days in the judicial system is not even what anybody can just even defend in any manner.

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“Nigeria has again happened here!

“The question we should be asking ourselves these days is: is an average citizen convinced that the rightful judgment has been delivered?

“The cardinal principle of law anywhere in the world is that when a court delivers a verdict, justice must also be seen to have been done by ordinary citizens and not just by lawyers.”