Supreme Court judge denies speaking with Tinubu over election tribunal result

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has made it clear that CJN Justice Olukayode Ariwoola did not speak with anyone by phone about the pending presidential election case for the 2023 election, and that includes President Bola Tinubu.

According to the Supreme Court, Justice Ariwoola did not communicate with Tinubu or the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) in an effort to exert influence on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s decision.

This was clarified in a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja by the Director of Press and Information of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Dr. Akande Festus.

To quote a portion of the statement: “In view of the rumour currently circulating in the social media space that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola had a telephone conversation with His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) with a view to pressuring the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on the likely judgement to give, it is imperative to state clearly that there is no iota of tru

The Nigerian public has shown impressive interest in the proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Therefore, it is recommended that we all keep up the pace and see it through to the end, rather than reverting to the domain of speculation and rumour mongering, which serves no one.

If the current pattern of dishonesty and smear campaigns continues, it’s possible that the United States will not advance as quickly as we’d like. The courts were created by law to protect the general public, and we stand ready to uphold that promise.

Since no party will ever be given preferential treatment over another in a legal issue, we’d want to implore everyone to help the country’s judicial system do its job. As the facts provided and the existing laws must be followed in deciding the merit or otherwise of each matter, the rule of law and supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution shall always be preserved and applied in every matter that comes before the courts.

The statement promised that “justice will be done to all matters pending in the various courts across the country,” regardless of who was involved.