Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court has accused the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to compromise him for favourable judgements in the governorship appeals in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia states.
He alleged that Amaechi promised that in the event he influenced the judgements in favour of APC, the governorship candidate of the party in Akwa Ibom during the 2015 election, Mr. Umana Umana, would put him (Justice Okoro) on monthly allowance of millions of naira. Justice Okoro, in a letter dated October 17, 2016 and addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, alleged that his refusal to do the bidding of Amaechi and agents of the governing party was responsible for his arrest and humiliation over alleged corruption by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The receipt of the letter, a copy of which was obtained by New Telegraph, was confirmed by an authoritative source in the office of the CJN last night. Amaechi has denied ever attempting to compromise Justice Okoro. The minister, according to his media office, described the allegation as concoction and figment of the justice’s imagination. “He (Justice Okoro) will hear from our lawyers.
The letter as it relates to Amaechi is a concoction and figment of imagination of the justice. He will surely hear from us,” the minister’s media office told New Telegraph last night.
The apex court justice was among the seven judges arrested by the DSS between October 8 and 9. The judges affected are Justices Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court; Justices Nnamdi Dimgba and Adeniyi Ademola, both of the Federal High Court, Abuja; Muazu Pindiga of Gombe; Kabiru Auta of Kano High Court; Innocent Okoro, out-going Enugu State chief judge; as well as Mohammed Tsamiya, an appeal court judge in Ilorin. Giving details of what transpired between him and Amaechi, Okoro stated: “My Lord, I strongly believe that this my travail is not unconnected with the verbal report I made to you on 1st, February, 2016, about the visit to my official residence by H/E, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and now minister of transportation.
“In that report, I told you, My Lord, that Mr. Amaechi said that the president of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress (APC) mandated him to inform me that they must win their election appeals in respect of Rivers State, Akwa Ibom State and Abia State at all costs. “For Akwa Ibom State, he alleged that he sponsored Mr. Umana Umana, the candidate of All Progressives Congress for that election and that if he lost Akwa Ibom appeal, he would have lost a fortune.
Mr. Amaechi also said that he had already visited you and that you had agreed to make me a member of the panel that would hear the appeals. “He further told me that Mr. Umana would be paying me millions of naira monthly if I co-operated with them. My response, as I told you on that date, was that it does not lie within my power to grant his request and that I would do all within my power not to be in the panel for Akwa Ibom State.
My Lord graciously left me out of the panel for Akwa Ibom State. That notwithstanding, the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State, which lost the appeal at the Supreme Court, believe that my presence in the Supreme Court made them to lose the appeal. “Could I have resigned from the Supreme Court simply because people of Akwa Ibom State had a matter before it?” Okoro also recalled in the letter that he had earlier reported that Umana visited his residence before Amaechi’s visit and also made the same request of assistance to win his appeal at the Supreme Court.
“Mr. Umana talked about ‘seeing’ the justices who would hear the appeal. Pastor (Dr) Ebebe Ukpong who led Mr. Umana Umana to my house intercepted and said that the issue of ‘seeing’ the justices was not part of their visit and that as a pastor, he would not be part of such a discussion. Mr. Umana apologised. I advised them to go and pray about the matter and get a good lawyer. That was how they left my house,” he stated.
Giving a graphical picture of how his apartment was searched, Okoro stated that: “On Friday, the 7th day of October, 2016, at about 9p.m., I received a phone call from an unfamiliar caller. He introduced himself as an official from the Presidency. He told me he had a letter for me from Mr. President. I immediately left my study room and went to open the door. Upon the door being opened, I saw so many heavily armed men with an inscription ‘DSS’ on their uniform.
One of them who was in mufti told me they were to search my house. I requested that I be allowed to inform the chief justice of Nigeria but they rebuffed, rather, they seized my phone from me.
“My Lord, the operatives of the Department of State Security searched all the rooms in the house meticulously. They also searched the boy’s quarters and my official vehicles parked outside. At the end of the search, which lasted till about 1:30a.m. of 8th October, 2016, they took away the following items: (1) One IPad; (2) Three phones (only one active); (3) $38,800; (4) N3.5 million only and (5) Cheque books (four in number).”
The judge noted that the listed items were documented on the back page of the search warrant they produced and was signed. He added that the DSS operatives informed him that their director-general wanted to see him that night. “I requested to visit their office upon the break of the day but they refused. In view of the presence of the heavily armed men who accompanied them and who were pointing their gun at me from all angles. I had no choice than to follow them to their office that night. I was detained by them in their office till Sunday, 9 October, 2016 and upon your Lordship’s intervention that Sunday, they released me in the evening of that Sunday.
“My Lord, I noticed that they also brought other judicial officers (serving and retired) to their office. So, before releasing us, they asked me to make a statement concerning the money found in my house. I told them that having received the sum of $24,000 and £10,000 a year for the past three years of my sojourn in this court as annual medical/vacation allowances and having not spent more than £5,000 on each of the three trips I have so far made abroad, I was entitled to have more than the amount recovered from me.
“Put differently, My Lord, the money was the balance of my estacode received from this court for the past three years. This is quite outside the estacodes I have received for the international conferences I have so far attended since joining the bench of this court,” he submitted. He, however, noted that as at the time of writing his report, the DSS has not confronted him with any petition or complaint from any quarters whatsoever. “Rather, they have grilled me, asking questions on some none existing properties around the country.
They have also doubted the age of my children, alleging that they are toddlers. This is sad and unbelievable,” he stated. Justice Okoro further submitted that up till now, he has not known his offense as over the years, from the Magistracy till date, he has done his best to eschew all forms of corrupt practices. “I have not received any bribe from anybody. My Lord is quite aware of my position as regards those who take bribe in the judiciary. I detest it and have no room for any adjustment. That is the truth,” he said.
He urged the CJN and NJC to disregard all the lies and media campaign orchestrated by those who felt he purposely refused to help them win their election appeals in the Supreme Court.
“I am confident that God will vindicate me at the end of this ordeal. I take it as a temporary setback. I remain loyal to my oath of office and the need to be just and fair in handling matters before me,” he stated.
