By Ugochukwu Nnamdi Ukamba

I had seen Hon. Justice Inyang Okoro’s letter to His Lordship, Mahmud Mohammed, Mahmud Mohammed, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and decided to ‘unlook’ because I try to restrict my engagement on social media to discussing issues and not people.

‎A good friend tagged me on a thread that was discussing the issue ostensibly to get my attention and perhaps elicit my opinion which she had considered ‘pedestrian’ on another thread discussing the DSS actions. I am not afraid to offer pedestrian opinions because one day those opinions will mature and ‘take flight’.‎

‎His Lordship’s letter raises some concerns that I hope we have, shorn of our emotional and political reactions, directed our minds to. I do hope His Lordship sought the opinion of Counsel before writing or dispatching that letter because, unwittingly, he appears to have shot himself in the foot -I think he may have shot His Lordship, Mahmud Mohammed, the CJN also.‎

‎The concerns:

1. How has His Lordship carried himself in the discharge of his judicial functions that politicians are comfortable enough to sit with him to openly discuss the prospect of rigging the decisions of the Supreme Court? First, Mr. Rotimi came to His Lordship and thereafter Mr. Umana, in the presence of a ‘Pastor’, offered gratification. ‎(or was the visit the other way round?)

Maybe I am a little old school but I know that before now, it was unheard of that a judicial officer would be found in the same vicinity as a litigant (or person remotely connected to the litigant) in a pending litigation.

Except His Lordship is suggesting that politicians routinely visit all his other learned brothers to discuss pending matters, I don’t see how that is a brilliant excuse for his current travails.

2. So politicians walked into His Lordship’s home, offered him a bribe to secure his assistance to influence a decision that might be assigned to him and His Lordship’s best response was ‘it doesn’t lie within my power to grant your request’. The law resides in His Lordship’s bosom and His Lordship knows or ought to know that the alleged conducts of Rotimi and Umanna amounted to criminal conducts contrary to sections 98A and 126 of the Criminal Code Act. The punishment in each of those sections are 7 years each. Had His Lordship complied with the provisions of our law and arrested (or caused to be arrested) the named politicians, the courts would have been able to try and sentence them appropriately. Our country would have been rid of at least two corrupt people for at least 14 years. No, His Lordship decided to ‘unlook’.

3. His Lordship said Mr. Rotimi also told him that he (Rotimi) had spoken with the CJN and that the CJN had agreed to make His Lordship a member of the panel that would hear the appeal. Inherent in that statement is the fact that Mr Rotimi has the power to influence the CJN’s decision. If Mr Rotimi was offering His Lordship money to get His Lordship on Rotimi’s side, would it be a far stretch to assume that Mr. Rotimi also offered the CJN money and perhaps the CJN accepted seeing that, according to His Lordship, the CJN had already agreed to do Mr. Rotimi’s bidding?

4. According to His Lordship, after this invidious attempt by politicians to ‘hijack’ justice, His Lordship only made ‘a verbal report’ of the incident to the CJN. Perhaps, over a light banter at dinner. We should all be collectively worried that a Justice of the Supreme Court (the final court of the land, the court with powers to uphold a death sentence on a human’s life) does not think that an incident, such as the grave allegations he has just made, is worthy of a formal petition to either the CJN or relevant law enforcement agencies. We should be more worried that these incidents allegedly happened in February 2016 and we are only just hearing of it in October -we perhaps would never have heard of it if His Lordship is not going through the present travails.‎

5. The, not-so-minor, reference of His Lordship to Mr. Rotimi trying to influence the outcome of the election appeal emanating from Abia State ‘at all cost’ is also very curious considering that Mr. Rotimi’s party wasn’t even part of the Abia Poll.

Perhaps this was a freudian slip.‎

‎Again, I do hope His Lordship sought legal counsel before writing this!

Ugochukwu Nnamdi Ukamba is a Legal Practitioner based in Lagos.

http://ynaija.com/re-justice-inyang-okoros-letter-lordship-shot-foot/

i was having the same thought

The 5th point got me thinking and I have been asking the same question since morning... Why would the judge allege that Amaechi asked him to influence the Abia APC election appeal when infact the APC candidate in Abia state had no case at the supreme court nor Appeal court.

The plan was for APGA to take over and decamp to APC. The guy was in romance with APC and that was why Federal government gave the APGA aspirant SSS, full security and many benefits immediately he won Appeal.... We knew their game.... So the Judge might be right. If the Judge is wrong they should sue him and stop making noise in media and papers...

@OP these politicians do meet with judges so all the epistle doesn't reduce the allegation on Amaechi and co!

Now the chicken has come home to roost !!!!
Legal minds have perused Oga Okoro's letter and lacunae of impropriety are being exposed.

NextGovernor:
The plan was for APGA to take over and decamp to APC. The guy
was in romance with APC and that was why Federal government
gave the APGA aspirant SSS, full security and many benefits
immediately he won Appeal.... We knew their game.... So the Judge might be right. If the Judge is wrong they should sue him and stop making noise in media and papers...

APGA and APC are wide apart. Stop typing thrash like we don't know the happenings in Abia and above all most PDP members in Abia were and are still in support of Alex Otti. Alex Otti won the election and if indeed APC supported him he would have regained his mandate. Till this day most Abians are not happy. I was and I'm still one of the core supporters of Ikpeazu because I believe Otti wanted to subvert the turn of Ngwa.

Abagworo:


Alex Otti won the election and if indeed APC supported him he would have regained his mandate.

What are you even saying self. The one Rivers and Akwa Ibom APC openly supported did they win or regain their mandate in court if at all stolen at first place?

NextGovernor:
The plan was for APGA to take over and decamp to APC. The guy was in romance with APC and that was why Federal government gave the APGA aspirant SSS, full security and many benefits immediately he won Appeal.... We knew their game.... So the Judge might be right. If the Judge is wrong they should sue him and stop making noise in media and papers...

next governor of psychos!!

NextGovernor:
The plan was for APGA to take over and decamp to APC. The guy was in romance with APC and that was why Federal government gave the APGA aspirant SSS, full security and many benefits immediately he won Appeal.... We knew their game.... So the Judge might be right. If the Judge is wrong they should sue him and stop making noise in media and papers...

Only God knows when all you ipob youths will get sense. Buhari contested three times and lost yet took his case all the way to the supreme court and never offered bribe. How it suddenly make sense that a man who never bribed in opposition will now bribe when he's the CinC shows how retarded some of you are. It's by their fruit you shall them, Buhari integrity towers over all you psychos and gives you all nightmares. There's something in the water you drink in the south east that corrupts the soul

NextGovernor:
The plan was for APGA to take over and decamp to APC. The guy was in romance with APC and that was why Federal government gave the APGA aspirant SSS, full security and many benefits immediately he won Appeal.... We knew their game.... So the Judge might be right. If the Judge is wrong they should sue him and stop making noise in media and papers...

And u knew all this how Are u in apc? Did u follow him to any one of their meetings? Pls lets be serious not using roadside gossip to justify criminality and corruption!

Justice okoro is only trying to play d usual victim card,thereby blackmailing d govt but kolewerk!!!!

He knows mentioning rivers n akwa ibom would get him some south south support,he needed d south east support so he had to throw an Abia into it.Unknown to him is dat apc is not a contender in anyway in abia.


Isn't it funny dat this is a judge dat would tell litigants/defenders to come forward with their evidence,is d one laying claim of reporting a case as grievious as bribery just verbally...

Justice okoro is not saying d truth yet.