PLATEAU: ISHAYA ADAMU vs PDP & 8 OTHERS: COURT DISMISSES PDP’S APPLICATION TO CORRECT, SLIP/TYPOGRAPHIC ERROR

By: Valentine Adese (JP),

The Plateau State High Court has dismissed the Application of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and 8 others, seeking for an Order of Court to correct alleged Slip/Typographic errors in the Judgment in Suit NO: PLD/J276CV/2020, delivered on the 24^th of June, 2021, for lacking in basis and merit.

PLATEAU STATE HIGH COURT

In his ruling on the Application today, Thursday, 24^th February, 2022, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice A. I. Ashom said, it would amount to redrafting the words of the claimant in their relief (f) in suit No: PLD/J276CV/2020.

Hon. Justice Ashom, in his ruling stated that, “In the Application at hand, the implication of what the Applicants seek the Court to do is to redraft for the Claimant the words of their relief (f) by adding the word Jos East LGA to take away their impression that the Claimant meant that the Court set aside the congress conducted in the whole of Plateau state.

“That certainly is not a correction but an alteration or an amendment which this Court has no jurisdiction to do.

“I so hold.

“I resolve the issue in the negative, and rule that the Application is lacking in basis and merit. Same is accordingly dismissed.”

You would recall that, Hon. Markus Heseini Nyam (aka Kaduna) had (for himself and all the purported witnesses of the Jos East PDP Congress), Hon. Gwott Yakubu Chocho (for himself and all the Caretaker members of PDP Plateau State), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Plateau State Chapter (sued for itself and on behalf of the members of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), Mr. David Wwanya, Capt. Modey Hart (PDP LGA Appeal Panel), INEC, Prof. Maxwell Gidado, had approached the Plateau State High Court with their Application filed by their Counsel, S. G. Odey (Esq) of S. G. Odey & Associates, with S. Oyawole (Esq), Frank Daniel (Esq), among other Lawyers, for an Order of the Court, to correct the slip in Relief (f) in the Judgment in Suit No: PLD/J276CV/2020, delivered on the 24^th of June, 2021 by correcting the word “Congresses” to read “Congress” and by adding the phrase, “in Jos East Local Government Area (LGA)”, immediately after the word Congress.

While Ishaya Adamu Izang, in his reply filed by C. B. Ameh (Esq) of Shibany Attorneys (Prestige Chambers) had explained that, “The position of the Law is that once a Court or Tribunal delivers its final Judgment in any case before it, it becomes Functus Officio with respect to that case.

“It has no powers to reopen the case for the purpose of making corrections or changing any opinion expressed in its earlier judgment in the case.

“The only exception to this rule is where there is need to make minor permissible corrections under the slip rule.

“What can be altered under the slip rule is not as to the substance of the judgment earlier delivered but limited to minor errors, such as spelling errors, typographical or mathematical errors wherein correct figures can be entered”.

TO BE CONTINUED…