Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and political activist, Timi Frank, has raised alarm over an alleged plot to alter the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Rivers State political crisis.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Frank accused associates of a former Rivers governor of attempting to manipulate the ruling by inserting new elements relating to the defection of lawmakers, a matter still pending before the Appeal Court.
Frank alleged that the move was a desperate attempt to influence ongoing legal battles regarding the legitimacy of lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
“There is an ongoing plot to doctor the Supreme Court judgment on Rivers and insert issues of defection that were never litigated by the parties.
“The pro-Wike group is working to smuggle into the judgment an aspect that was never decided in court to derail pending cases at the Appeal Court and Federal High Court,” Frank stated.
Naija News reports that he emphasized that the legality of defection remains unresolved in the lower courts, where Nigerians are awaiting a judicial ruling on whether lawmakers can switch parties without division in their former party—a matter backed by an existing sworn court affidavit.
Calls For Judiciary To Resist Interference
Frank urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the panel of justices who delivered the ruling to resist any attempts to modify their judgment.
He warned that tampering with the judgment could undermine the credibility of the Supreme Court and damage Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
“I have just been reliably informed of a last-minute desperate move by former Governor Wike and his lawyers, working with some elements in the Supreme Court, to use the ongoing writing of the judgment on Rivers’ local government elections and budget presentation to insert an issue that was never part of the substantive case,” he alleged.
Frank further claimed that a draft of the manipulated judgment had already been sighted by his contacts within the legal team of those behind the plot.
He alleged that the individuals involved were already celebrating their expected success, believing that the insertion of new elements into the ruling would work in their favor.
Frank, however, urged the judiciary to uphold its integrity, warning that such interference could cause “irreparable damage” to the reputation of Nigeria’s highest court.
“The Nigerian judiciary must resist any pressure to rewrite a judgment that has already been delivered. The Supreme Court must not allow itself to be used as a tool for political manipulation,” he warned.