Nigeria’s Court of Appeal has firmly refuted the report making the rounds of resignation of one of its members, Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo, from the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Reports of the Justice’s resignation swept the internet in all of today, a speculation that has been denied by PEPC.
Chief Registrar of the Court, Malam Umar Mohammed Bangari, has said the news report is fake, misleading and should be ignored by the public.
The news of the Justice’s resignation – which alluded to have been caused by pressure from the executive arm of government had unsettled Nigeria’s political landscape.
According to the report, he allegedly stated that aligning with the government on the election petitions involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would lead to the “death of Nigeria’s democracy” and that he could not keep silent in good conscience.
The purported report further accused Justice Ugo of being urged to undermine the independence of the judiciary by ruling in favor of a specific political candidate, widely believed to be Bola Tinubu. It alleged that he was asked to suppress crucial evidence and dismiss cases that could have influenced the election’s outcome.
However, Chief Registrar Bangari refuted these claims, affirming that Justice Ugo remains an active member of the panel of Justices handling the petitions by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Labour Party (LP), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). These parties, along with their presidential candidates, are challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
While registering his displeasure for such an insensitive news report, the Registrar slammed purveyors of fake news.
He said his office and the Information Department of the Court were not consulted for verification before the news was made public. He assured the Nigerian public of the courts uncompromising position to upholding transparency.
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