The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has accused a former Chief Judge of Enugu state, Mr. Innocent Umezulike, and a presidential aide, one Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, of running a smear campaign against him
The deputy senate president said this in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Uche Anichukwu that the two individuals have been using his will stolen at Enugu state Probate Registry to carry out the campaign.
The former Chief Judge had in a letter published by this website over the weekend asked the National Security Adviser, NSA to probe the Deputy Senate President over allegations corruption.
Specifically, the former judge said the 32 choice properties owned by Ekweremadu in Nigeria and abroad were beyond what the lawmaker could have acquired with the salaries and allowances he has received since he started working as a lawyer and since his election into National Assembly.
The demand for investigation was made in a 16 June 2017 letter addressed to NSA by the retired Chief Judge.
The retired Judge included the list of houses owned by the Deputy Senate President abroad and in Nigeria in the letter.
But Ekweremadu said the letter was part of a sustained smear campaign against him by Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla and the retired judge.
He said, “I would have continued to ignore them, but for the concern of my well-wishers. Therefore, the public may wish to know as follows: “About July 2016, former chief judge of Enugu state, Hon. Justice Innocent Umezulike, in his capacity as the chief judge of Enugu state at the time, together with his lawyer, and Barrister Tagbo Ike, in connivance with some politicians, broke into the Probate Registry, Enugu, took away my will and left behind a photocopy.
“They copied the properties listed in the will and added many imaginary properties and started churning out baseless petitions to government agencies and officials. In their petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for instance, they claimed, in a demonstration of gross ignorance, that I was given money by the federal government to develop the south-east geopolitical zone but that I used it to purchase 32 properties.
“They sent similar petitions to Mr President, the vice-president, senate president, attorney-general of the federation, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, director-general of the Department of State Security, inspector-general of Police, commissioner of police (Enugu), among others.”
Mr. Ekweremadu said he is being targeted because of the 2019 election and vowed to speak more on this subject at the “appropriate time”.
He said: “For now, let me state that Justice Innocent Umezulike has since been dismissed from service by the National Judicial Council and is facing trial in different courts. God is also on top of the matter in several other ways in the life of Justice Umezulike’s.
“It suffices to add that with what is unfolding now, the current smear campaign championed by Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, is helping to expose those, who acted with Justice Umezulike, to steal my will. They have been peddling this so-called ‘discovery’ since July 2016.
“Umezulike has also, in several other petitions, attacked me and my family. He also, at some point, accused me of killing several people, which the office of the inspector-general of police investigated; and probably, he will soon face appropriate charges bordering on false information.
“Let me, therefore, call on all those, who are concerned about this smear campaign, not to worry. This too shall pass. History will vindicate the just and the wicked will never go unpunished.”
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