The purported resignation of one of the Justices of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja is false, as Nigerian Tribune has gathered.
The news of the alleged resignation of Justice Boloukuoromo M. Ugo from the Bench, citing demands “to kneecap democracy,” broke earlier today on the internet.
The online report stated that Justice Ugo resigned from the Bench, citing demands from the executive branch that he believes would destroy the country’s democracy.
In a statement, as reported by the online platform, Justice Ugo said that siding with the government on the petitions challenging the election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be the “death of Nigeria’s democracy” and that he could not, in good conscience, remain silent.
According to Justice Ugo’s statement, he was asked to “cripple the independence of the judiciary” by ruling in favour of a certain political candidate, whom he did not name but is widely believed to be Bola Tinubu.
Additionally, the online report said he was asked to suppress evidence and dismiss cases that could have an impact on the election.
However, the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Mohammed Bangari, said the information is false and that no Justices resigned from the Bench of the Court of Appeal.
According to the Chief Registrar, Justice Ugo is still on the panel of Justices of the Presidential Election Petition Court handling the petitions by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Obi, and Atiku challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election. (Tribune)
