The National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Court of Appeal have dismissed as false and baseless reports alleging the mysterious deaths of two justices involved in upholding President Bola Tinubu’s election.
Rumour circulating on social media claimed that Justices Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf and Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo, members of the five-judge panel on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, died under suspicious circumstances.
According to these viral reports, Justice Bolaji-Yusuf was allegedly found unresponsive the morning after appearing healthy the previous evening, while Justice Ugo was said to have passed away in the early hours following a loud disturbance from his room, with family members reportedly finding him bleeding and unresponsive.
Justices Bolaji-Yusuf and Ugo were part of the Tribunal that, on September 6, 2023, confirmed President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winners of the February 25, 2023, presidential election, dismissing petitions by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
However , the NJC, through a statement by its Secretary, Ahmed Saleh, refuted these claims.
“Please ignore the news; it is a lie. The Justices are alive, well, and doing their jobs,” Saleh stated, assuring the public of the well-being of both judicial officers.
An unnamed senior official from the Court of Appeal who spoke to Vanguard also dismissed the rumours as “the handiwork of mischief makers,” stating, “It is totally false and mischievous. Their Lordships are well and in good health. It is most unfortunate that some individuals would spread such baseless claims, wishing ill on others.”