'I did not tell anyone to induce Judges to Pervert the course of Justice' - Buhari

Posted by Admin | 7 years ago | 2,147 times



President Muhammadu Buhari has refuted claims that he requested someone to induce judges to pervert the course of Justice, stressing that he had nothing to do with the travails of more than 12 judges, including two Justices of the Supreme Court.

The President stated this  through a statement issued on Sunday by his Spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu.

One of the judges earlier arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court claimed that his ordeal was a result of his refusal at various times to help the All Progressives Congress, APC, pervert justice in governorship election disputes involving Ekiti, Rivers and Ebonyi states, even as he identified the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, as those who allegedly approached him on behalf of the APC.

Justice Okoro had claimed that a Minister approached him and said the President was interested in the outcome of the election petitions in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states.

But the President asserted that he had never approached any judge to win his cases between 2003 and 2011.

According to the statement, “President Muhammadu Buhari would be the last person to authorise anybody to induce a judge to pervert the course of justice.

“Despite his personal familiarity with some court judges, the President had never used that familiarity to seek favours from them from 2003, 2007 and 2011 when he was challenging the fairness of the presidential election results, from the lowest to the highest courts in the land during the periods in question.

“As a politician, Buhari had never once ever suggested to his lawyers to approach any judge for assistance to win his cases. The President lives by this principle and has never deviated from it.”

On the fate of the Judges facing corruption allegations, the Presidential Media Aide said: “The President doesn’t tell Courts how to do their jobs and that anybody accused of corruption is protected by law to defend their innocence.

“The purpose of the law is to punish the guilty and acquit the innocent. The law protects the rights of everyone.

“The President doesn’t have any powers to force any court to convict anybody who is innocent. In a democratic society that cannot happen without resistance by the people.”


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