The Court of Appeal has dismissed allegations regarding the resignation of Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo from the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC). The Chief Registrar of the Court, Malam Umar Mohammed Bangari, refuted the claim, stating that it was false and misleading.
The allegations of Justice Ugo’s resignation were initially circulated on social media by a Twitter user named Umar Sani. Sani claimed that Justice Ugo resigned due to pressures to undermine democracy and that he could not remain silent in good conscience. However, the Chief Registrar clarified that there were no resignations from the Court of Appeal Bench and that Justice Ugo is still part of the panel of Justices handling the petitions related to the presidential election.
The allegations suggested that Justice Ugo was asked to compromise the independence of the judiciary by ruling in favor of a specific political candidate, widely believed to be President Bola Tinubu. However, the Court of Appeal has dismissed these claims, affirming that Justice Ugo is actively involved in the proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Court.
The news of Justice Ugo’s alleged resignation was circulated by a certain Umar Sani, a Twitter user, who claimed that Justice Ugo tendered his resignation citing “demands to kneecap democracy.”
According to Sani, Justice Ugo stated that siding with the government on this issue would be the “death of Nigeria’s democracy,” and that he could not remain silent in good conscience.
