How Gov Emmanuel, Akpabio struck deal with Judges to secure victory
-A source close to the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State claims the court ruling that validates Gov. Emmanuel Udom’s election victory is pre-arranged
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state and his predecessor, former governor Godswill Akpabio has been accused to have struck a deal with justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to procure the apex court’s judgment that validated Emmanuel’s election.
Sahara Reporters stated in its report that the alleged negotiations on how to capture the Supreme Court started in late December of 2015, shortly after the Nigerian Court of Appeal made an omnibus nullification of elections held throughout Akwa Ibom State.
Governor Udom Emmanuel
The medium quoted an undisclosed source (close to the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State) who alleged that Akpabio, who is the minority leader at the Nigerian Senate had reached out to Justice John Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court to help broker a deal with Chief Justice Mahmud Mohammed and other justices of the Supreme Court to overturn the Appeal Court’s judgment.
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The source alleged that Akpabio was instrumental to the elevation of Justice Okoro to the Supreme Court by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013.
”As such, it was payback time. Initially, we thought that it would not be possible to penetrate the Supreme Court, but Justice Okoro and other powerful forces made it possible,’‘ the source said.
The source disclosed to Sahara Reporters that Akpabio and Governor Udom allegedly directed the state’s Attorney General to work closely with Justice Okoro to ensure that the judgment favored the PDP.
”A pre-hearing conference was held in Abuja between the AG, Justice Okoro, Justice Chima Centus Nweze [another Supreme Court justice], some PDP members and the governor’s legal,” our source said. According to him, Justice Nweze actually coached the governor’s team on the issues they should emphasize in their briefs, so that the Supreme Court would depend on those briefs to overturn the Appeal Court’s judgment,”
READ DETAILS as reported by Sahara Reporters
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