Connect with us

News

CUPP accuses Buhari govt of blackmailing Supreme Court judges ahead of Atiku’s appeal

Published

on

There are indications Saraki’s corruption case is persecution – Atiku

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has kicked against the directive of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) asking banks to provide the account details of all justices of the Supreme Court.

CUPP described the directive as an onslaught against judges to harass and blackmail them to submission ahead of the appeal of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, coming before the apex court on the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

The party’s spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere, in a statement on Sunday, alleged that this was simultaneous with another request from one of the security agencies to all mobile telecommunication companies to furnish them with the phone log of the justices and other listed Nigerians from 1st August, 2018 till 10th September, 2019.

He accused the government of trying to hide its true intention by including members of the National Assembly to the list of those whose bank accounts are under surveillance.

Ugochinyere, however, said the government did not succeed in hiding its intention because “it was clear that there was no mention of any member of the executive arm of government in the NFIU letter.

READ ALSO: BUHARI VS ATIKU: Timi Frank wants int’l community to place visa restrictions on 5 tribunal justices

“Or are there no corrupt persons in the Executive arm of government? We would not have been so surprised by this latest government action since the same government had earlier ordered a midnight raid on houses of some judges and also removed a sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria in a most controversial manner.

“The same government sent security agents to lay siege on the National Assembly with a view to forcing a leadership change.

“Our concern, however, is that these directives to invade the privacy of the justices clearly guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution is coming at a time the coalition presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is approaching the Supreme Court to contest the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

“Basking in the euphoria of the success of their arm-twisting plot at the Court of Appeal, they are at it again now in the Supreme Court. We make bold to say that this latest onslaught is part of coordinated plans to blackmail the justices of the Supreme Court, intimidate them and instill fear in them. But this move will backfire. It will fail.

“We call on all justices of the Supreme Court to stand firm, endure the onslaught of the emperor and his ruthless agents and use the word of their mouth on judgment day to bring his reign of terror and stolen mandate to an end and liberate Nigeria from this current nightmare.

“We therefore call on all lovers of democracy across the world to pay more attention to happenings in Nigeria as the nation’s democracy is being threatened daily by government’s actions.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now