The Court of Appeal, on Thursday, debunked the news that a member of the five-member panel that is handling petitions seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu, resigned.
A high ranking official of the court, who spoke to Vanguard, described the information as “fake news”, insisting that it was the handiwork of “evil rumour mongers.
The source, who pleaded not to be mentioned because he was not authorized to speak to the press, maintained that “no such thing happened.”
He said: “I was with some members of the panel yesterday and I can authoritatively tell you that there was nothing like that.
“In fact, we were shocked when our attention was drawn to the fake news. The true position is that parties in the petitions were given time to file and exchange their final written address. They are already doing that.
“I believe that unless someone is made a scape goat, this fake news trend will continue,” the source added.
Meanwhile, in the said “fake news” that is gaining traction on social media, it was reported that a member of the presidential election petition court, Justice Boloukuoromo M. Ugo, had in “a shocking and unprecedented move”, resigned from the bench over pressure from the Executive arm of the government which he believed would destroy the country’s democracy.
According to the report, Justice Ugo , in in a statement, maintained that siding with the government on the matter before the court, would be the “death of Nigeria’s democracy,” insisting that he could not in good conscience remain silent.
The report stated that Justice Ugo, in the said statement, disclosed that he was asked to “cripple the independence of the judiciary”, by ruling in favor of President Tinubu.