In response to widespread rumors circulating on the internet earlier today, the Court of Appeal has firmly denied the reported resignation of one of its members, Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo, from the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Chief Registrar of the Court, Malam Umar Mohammed Bangari, categorically dismissed the news as false and misleading, urging the public to ignore it entirely.
The online report, which caused a stir, claimed that Justice Ugo had tendered his resignation, citing pressures from the executive branch to compromise the country’s democracy.
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.
Bangari expressed his disappointment with the dissemination of the false report, highlighting that neither his office nor the Information Department of the Court were consulted before the news was made public. He emphasised the Court’s commitment to upholding transparency and urged the public not to be swayed by baseless rumors.
