Fact Check: Did Tribunal Judges Travel to Paris ‘to Pick Up Bribes’ as Obi's Supporter Claimed?
- Some social media users recently accused the five judges of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) of corruption
- They claimed the judges who ruled against opposition candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, flew to Paris, France shortly after the judgement
- Legit conducted a fact check and found the claim to be speculative as no evidence was provided by the source
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FCT, Abuja - Jackson Ude, a popular supporter of Peter Obi, claimed that all the five judges of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal who participated in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) have travelled to Paris, France.
Source: Twitter
Beware of dubious claims about Tsammani-led tribunal
Diaspora-based Ude, who has over 78,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), said the legal luminaries allegedly flew abroad ‘to pick up bribes.’
Ude made the allegation following the verdict of the PEPT on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at the court of appeal, Abuja.
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The PEPT had upheld President Bola Tinubu's election victory in its hours-long ruling.
The development left Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and their supporters disappointed.
Ude on Thursday, September 7, 2023, posted that the PEPT judges were flown out of Nigeria via a private jet.
The judges are Haruna Tsammani, Stephen Adah, Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf, Boloukuoromo Ugoh, and Abba Mohammed.
Ude claimed his “informant” told him that the judges were promised $ 5 million each, “while Tsammani who is the head of the panel gets $ 7 million”.
His post on his verified handle reads in full:
“ALL PEPT JUDGES NOW IN PARIS TO PICK UP BRIBE MONEY All the five Justices of the Presidential Elections Petition Tribunal who affirmed the INEC selection of Bola Tinubu as President were immediately flown out of Nigeria via a Private Jet yesterday for Paris, France.
"The Judges, Haruna Tsammani, Stephen Adah, Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf, Boloukuoromo Ugoh, Abba Mohammed, are all in Paris to pick up their bribe money, a Judge who does not want to be named told me.
"The rogue Judges were promised $5million each while Haruna Tsammani who is the head of the panel gets $7million, according to the informant.”
Other 'Obidients' - a sobriquet for staunch supporters of Obi - have recycled the claim. See here, here, and here.
Legit scrutinised the claim and found it to be unproven. Also, no credible media platform reported it.
This was also corroborated by findings of The FactCheckHub, a fact-checking website.
The media outlet said it contacted Umar Bangari, the chief registrar of the appellate court in Abuja, who debunked the viral claim and described it as baseless and childish.
"Obi can't replace Tinubu": Fasua
Legit earlier reported that Tope Fasua, the presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) in 2019, said it would be difficult for Obi to prove in court that he won the 2023 election.
Source: Legit.ng
