Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
A political pressure group known as the Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) wants immediate investigations into the allegation that Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola recently planned to visit London in disguise to meet with Nigeria's President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
CNPP says the investigations are necessary to protect the integrity of the country's judicial system amid
widespread complaints against various decisions of the Supreme Court on political matters since the 2023 general elections.
CNPP urged President Mohammadu Buhari and relevant security agencies to make public, the findings of the probe to guard against civil unrest by citizens who are aggrieved and suspicious of the outcome of the recent elections in the country.
The CNPP reaction follows a recent report by an online news outlet, the Peoples Gazette, which cited Supreme Court sources who alleged that Justice Ariwoola disguised in a wheelchair as part of a plan to meet secretly with Tinubu in London.
The CNPP further condemned the use of ethnicity, religion, and ethnic profiling by some politicians as campaign tools and called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute persons who were involved in making inciting comments before, during, and after the 2023 general elections.
A statement by the CNPP Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, also observed that although the two concerned persons have denied planning such a meeting, “the integrity of both the chief judicial personality in Nigeria and that of the President-Elect have been called to question, especially given the widespread criticisms of the Supreme Court of Nigeria's rulings on political matters since the 2023 general elections”.
It continued, “The Supreme Court under the current leadership has given several verdicts on political litigations in recent times which put the integrity of the apex court to question before this very damaging report by an online news portal on the alleged planned meeting between the CJN and the President-elect in London.
Bola Tinubu, Nigeria's president-elect.
“Allowing the matter to slide without a public inquiry will be a recipe for breach of national security if the Supreme Court rulings fail to favor some parties in election litigations currently before various election petition tribunals, especially the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal under the direct jurisdiction of the CJN.
“The CNPP, therefore, calls on President Muhammadu Buhari, Security Agencies, and all relevant stakeholders to institute an open investigation into the reported planned meeting between CJN Ariwoola and President-elect Tinubu to lay to rest the controversy in the interest of justice and national security.
“This is imperative as the level of distrust, religious and tribal colorations permeating topics among supporters of different political camps in the country, especially now that the most damaging allegation on the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary became a media affair, should be taken very seriously to avoid a national catastrophe.
“It is also of national importance to ensure that the matter is openly investigated and the report made public as most Nigerian politicians and citizens who are aggrieved by the outcome of the 2023 general elections as conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may resort to self-help in the event of perceived biases in the judicial pronouncements on the outcome by the tribunals.
“The CNPP urges politicians to caution their supporters on the use of ethnicity and religion as campaign tools. Ethnic profiling is dangerous to the peace and unity of the country and must be stopped.
“We, therefore, call on security agencies to ensure that all persons who were involved in inciting comments before, during, and after the 2023 general elections are prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others, otherwise the individuals and groups will remain bad examples and reference cases shortly," the CNPP warned.
Politics and Opinion.
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