Alleged inducement of judges: Kano APC considers legal action against state AGF

The accusations and counter-allegations regarding purported financial inducements and intervention on the part of Justices of the Court of Appeal, which upheld APC candidate Nasiru Gawuna’s election as the legitimate governor of Kano State, have taken on a new significance.

The state’s APC chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, has threatened to file defamation lawsuits against Hon. Haruna Isa Dederi, the commissioner of justice and attorney general of Kano State.

In a letter dated November 23, 2023, Abbas accused the AGF of Kano State of making hostile, misleading, and harmful remarks about the judiciary.

The APC Chairman cited comments he had heard on television that the Kano State Justice Commissioner had made, accusing the Justices of the Court of Appeal of corruption and undue influence from certain members of the administration.

Honourable Abbas challenged the Kano AGF to come forward and list the names of those involved in tampering with the Kano Election Tribunal’s and the Court of Appeal’s rulings, despite his claims that the AGF’s statements embarrassed not only the Justices of the Court of Appeal but also the APC Kano state chapter.

“This will significantly contribute to ridding society of corruption. It will also prevent me from needless attacks that your comment has exposed me to and clear my name. However, I demand that you publicly apologise to me and my party for the embarrassment you caused us if you have no evidence to support the serious allegation you made.

If Hon. Haruna Isa Dederi would not comply with his requests for a public apology, the chairman of the Kano APC threatened to file a petition against him at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee and launch a defamation lawsuit against him in court.

“On November 23, 2023, you featured in the Channels Television breakfast show, wherein you recklessly made serious and damaging allegations of corruption against the Justices of the Court of Appeal and the Judges of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that heard and decided the appeal of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf and the New Nigeria Peoples Party filed in Appeal No. CA/KN/EP/GOV/KAN/34/2023, Yusuf Abba Kabir v. APC & 2 Ors. That is a portion of the letter.

“In the aforementioned interview, you deliberately and falsely claimed that the Tribunal’s choice to give its ruling by Skype was the result of meddling when you commented on the judgement of the Tribunal that dismissed Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf. You claimed as follows:

“It has come to our attention that the judges were against using Zoom to deliver the verdict due to significant interference,”

“It is evident from the aforementioned comment that you were implying that our party officials had influence over the judges, which you are aware is untrue. If you took the time to read the Tribunal’s ruling, you would see that the judges were forced to leave Kano due to threats against their lives made by government officials, of which you are the Attorney General. This action earned the Tribunal’s disapproval. “I use this opportunity to condemn the gang of red cap wearers who, like violent and terrorist cult, chased us out of Kano and put us in fear of our lives,” said His Lordship Justice Anya.

“The public is aware that high ranking government officials you work for publicly threatened the lives of the Tribunal judges. To date, you have not started prosecuting those individuals, but you have made such damaging remarks against the judiciary with such carelessness.

“Not done. You are upset that the Court of Appeal upheld the Tribunal’s decision to fire your principal, and you accused the Court of Appeal’s Justices of being corrupt in your remarks.

Based on the facts at our disposal, there appears to have been intervention by higher powers. People with political interests in this nation are willing to do whatever it takes to put things in jeopardy, and this was a factor in the ruling.

“We will continue to say that interference was the cause of the problem, even though this was not the original judgement that was intended because of interference.”

“It is clear from the aforementioned statement that you were aware of the Court of Appeal’s ruling before it was altered as a result of your claimed involvement. How you learned the contents of the court’s judgement prior to its delivery will be of interest to our party and the wider public.

You continued by saying that the justices of the Tribunal originally intended for the clerical error in the released judgement to be there, but they modified it as a result of outside interference. It goes without saying that such a serious accusation from Kano State’s Chief Law Officer will mislead the public about the court’s actual ruling and incite them to oppose the judiciary as a whole, and the Justices who decided the appeal in question in particular. You went on to state that the Court of Appeal’s ruling really overturned the Tribunal’s ruling.

“As if that weren’t enough, you went on to record a voice message in which you addressed the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal’s comments regarding the typographical error in the ruling in your capacity as Kano State’s Attorney General. You hinted that the Justices of the Court of Appeal were in fact compromised in the aforementioned audio message.

“I vividly remember that you were present in court when the judgement was delivered, and you heard the justice’s decision clearly. To my surprise, however, you also went to the television programme and recorded a voice note misleading the public about the court’s decision, all with the intention of defaming the judiciary.

The most concerning thing is that you talked as the Attorney General of Kano State in every one of your public remarks criticising the court. Moreover, the Kano State Government is not a party to the matter that is currently before the court. You are the Attorney General of Kano State, not the NNPP, hence this is an abuse of your office.

“Since your previous statement, I have been inundated with calls and texts from friends, family, coworkers, and associates requesting an explanation from me on the veracity of the claim that my party impacted the Court of Appeal and Tribunal’s decision. I also got a lot of threats, one of which was an attempt to attack my Kano home. Your thoughtless remarks have stoked a great deal of friction by disparaging my reputation in society and casting aspersions on me personally.

“In light of the foregoing, I hereby require that you come out and identify the names of individuals involved in tampering with the two courts’ rulings. This will significantly contribute to ridding society of corruption. It will also prevent me from needless attacks that your comment has exposed me to and clear my name. However, I demand that you publicly apologise to me and my party for the embarrassment you caused us, even if you have no evidence to support the serious claim you made.

I don’t think I need to remind you of the part of your professional code that deals with courts and judges because I am a lawyer. Your accusation against the justices and judges is extremely serious, especially if it turns out to be untrue. As a result, I am giving you a 48-hour ultimatum in this letter to support your claims that the Judges and Justices were coerced into rendering a decision that was outside the law.

“Please be aware that we will take legal action for defamation against you in court and that, should you refuse to comply with my demands as outlined above, we will not hesitate to file a petition against you with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

Timely intervention saves nine.