Presidential Tribunal: 2 Justices Under Pressure To Resign, Tinubu Fingered – Group Alleges

A Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, Face Of Waziri-Nigeria, FOWN, said strong indications have emerged of a frantic effort to frustrate at least two of the Justices at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, to resign, in order to make a mess of the judicial panel.

The group’s Director General, comrade Bukky Adeniyi, stated this in a statement issued in Lagos, on Thursday.

Adeniyi, maintained that “given the existing legal proviso which necessitates a replacement and retrieval in case the Justices resign and consequently translates to buying time beyond that stipulated by the Supreme Court is a ploy to make the case statute barred and of no effect.”

FOWN, allegedly stated, “there is a surreptitious move by President Bola Tinubu to make the Justices resign which is targeted at ensuring the time frame of 180 days elapses before the case is concluded by the panel.”¹

According to Adeniyi; “The Justice has not resigned at the moment but we have it on good authority that Mr. Tinubu and his team are seriously working hard to threaten and frustrate one or two of them to resign so that the panel will be bereft of jurisdiction at this stage.

“This will lead to replacement and retrieval de novo. In which case, it will be statute barred once outside the 180 days stipulated by the constitution and attendant of which ends the matter because the Supreme Court cannot extend time.

“At the moment Tinubu is pressuring the tribunal. He wants two judges to withdraw or resign from the panel.

“A particular Governor formerly with the PDP but now in APC sequel Tinubu’s blessing from South-South is delegated to use document of money exchange between the government of that state and one or two of the justices in the past for judgement favour then, as a proof to harass and intimidate the justices to shift the judgement of the tribunal in their favour.

The group, however, raised some poser on the matter: “How do you explain if at all such money exchange occurred in the past, to now want to use such to blackmail the Justice.?

“Did the Justice or justices demand the money the governor gave then, or was it given as a ‘thank you?’ In whatever case, the tribunal matter is different from whatever transaction they had together in the past.” the group queried.