NJC refutes A’Court judges death rumour

The National Judicial Council has dismissed as false, the report that two out of the five justices that sat on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal panel which upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election died mysteriously.

Both Justices Justice Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf and Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo, who were a member of the panel that delivered the September 6, 2023 judgment, dismissed the petition of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and that of the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, as lacking in merit.

All five justices (including Bolaji-Yusuf and Ugo), in a unanimous decision, affirmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

Meanwhile, in the report making the rounds, it was alleged that the justices had died the same day mysteriously.

The alleged report read “Justice Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf, one of the five judges who presided over the electoral case, was confirmed dead by her family earlier today. According to family members, she was in good health the previous night before going to bed. However, when they attempted to wake her the following morning, she was unresponsive. The cause of her death remains unknown at this time.

“In a separate but equally troubling incident, Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo was also found dead following a loud noise from his room around 2 am. Family members reportedly broke down his door after hearing the disturbance and discovered him bleeding and unresponsive.”

The NJC secretary, Mr Ahmed Saleh, however, dismissed the report as false news, adding that the justices were alive and well.

“Please ignore the news, it is a lie. The justices are alive, well and doing their jobs,” he said.

Similarly, a staffer of the Court of Appeal said there was no truth in the report.

“It is totally false and mischievous. Their Lordships are well and in good health. It is most unfortunate that mischief makers will sit in a corner and wish death on others. Please ignore the false news,” he said.