- Justice Ogebe revealed that another colleague of his who was not on their panel collected money unknown to them but they were not influenced by him or anyone
A retired Justice of the Supreme Court who was one of Court of Appeal Justices on the Boni Haruna Governorship election panel has said that they were not bribed.
In his autobiography titled “Justice Under the Shadow of the Almighty,” Hon Justice James OB Ofebe JSC (rtd) however revealed that another colleague who was not on their panel collected money unknown to them but they were not influenced by him or anyone.
Recent reports say: “A Wikileaks classified United States diplomatic cable has exposed how Nigerian legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, and former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, way back in 2004 allegedly purchased a Court of Appeal ruling that ensured the then Adamawa State Governor, Boni Haruna, remained in office.”
According to the US diplomatic cable, an Attorney for then Governor Haruna, who worked for Afe Babalola, confirmed that the favourable ruling by the Court of Appeal “was ensured in typical Nigerian fashion: With cash.
“The Attorney, who works for Presidential attorney Afe Babalola, said that when President Obasanjo sent Babalola to take over the appeal, he also sent cash to be used for the appeal.”
“The attorney claims that he went along for the delivery of 30 million naira (about $225,000) to each of the five Judges on the tribunal but did not know if this was all the money disbursed.”
“This is the normal procedure when it is an important case,” he averred,” the Wikileaks document read.
Boni Yaruna, a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obasanjo’s party at that time, was Governor of Adamawa State from 1999 to 2007.
Afe Babalola has recently come under the radar in Nigeria over his use of the Nigerian Police to arrest human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, from his office in Lagos State – an action that has received national and global condemnation from various quarters and human rights groups.
SaharaReporters reported last Tuesday that Farotimi was arrested and taken to Ekiti State for allegedly defaming Afe Babalola, a prominent legal figure, in his book “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.”
According to the Octogenarian jurist who is currently in Australia, three of the Justices on his panel are now late but he is ready to cooperate with an investigation as he has already disclosed his own findings concerning alleged bribery in his autobiography.