Investigations by Saharareporters reveal that the justices of the Supreme Court bribed by by Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) Uba have assured him of their determination to give him victory when an enlarged seven-member panel sits to hear his appeal.
Last Thursday, a five-justice panel headed by Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu had plotted to hand back the governorship of Anambra State to Uba, who filed a second suit asking the apex court to reverse its earlier decisions to the effect that Uba’s “election” was fundamentally defective. However, the panel scurried to adjourn the case indefinitely after we exclusively reported that Uba had purchased the justices.
Even so, our sources disclose that the justices have sent assurances to Uba that they are willing to follow through on the deal to install him as Anambra governor.
The panel craftily agreed to an objection by Mr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, Governor Peter Obi’s lead lawyer that a full seven-member panel ought to be constituted to hear Uba’s latest case.
Despite the so-called “indefinite adjournment,” our sources within the court disclose that the justices and Uba want to dispose of the case soon – before the massive coalition opposed to Uba’s inordinate gubernatorial ambition has time to mobilize against the corrupt verdict. To that end, the justices plan to proceed with the case “very soon.”
In the words of one source, “I can tell you that the justices intend to invite counsel to both parties anytime from now to appear before an enlarged panel of justices.” He added that a majority of the members of the new panel, if not all, have already accepted an advance payment of bribes to rule that Uba should take over from Governor Obi without any new election.
One of our sources disclosed that Mr. Adokie Bello, an Abuja-based lawyer notorious for using financial inducement to compromise judges, is the man Uba hired to strike his “deal” with the Supreme Court.
As a strategy to deflect attention from his role, Mr. Bello and Uba agreed that Bello should stay in the background. Even so, our sources say Bello is the chief architect of what they describe as Uba’s forthcoming “cash-and-carry” verdict.
Our investigations showed that Adokie Bello has the profile of a consummate behind-the-scene wheeler and dealer. He is described as a boastful loudmouth who uses his extreme closeness to several judges – including justices of the apex court – to “buy” verdicts for his clients.
Bello, whose chum list in the Supreme Court includes Katsina-Alu and Justice Niki Tobi, who set up the original five-person panel, has boasted to confidants that Uba “has the governorship in the bag,” even with the addition of two justices to the original panel.
One source, a senior advocate, told Saharareporters that Mr. Bello is a mediocre lawyer who makes up for his weakness with a gutsy skill at bribing judges and justices. The source added that Bello’s capacity for “reaching judges with money” was common knowledge in legal circles in Abuja.
A source within the apex court told our correspondent that a handful of creditable justices at the Supreme Court chafe quietly about the ease with which Bello compromises some of their colleagues.
A lawyer in Abuja told our correspondent that Bello’s decision not to make a physical appearance in court as Uba’s counsel convinced him of the veracity of our reports that the Supreme Court justices have been “bought.”
Last Wednesday, when Saharareporters first revealed that Uba had purchased the Katsina-Alu panel, some lawyers initially greeted the report with incredulity. One Abuja-based lawyer told our correspondent late Wednesday night that our report was implausible since he did not believe that any justices would stoop so low to rubbish their individual reputation and taint the image of the court.
The same lawyer told us that he changed his mind after personally observing what transpired in court last Thursday. “I was shocked at the body language and utterances of the justices in court,” said the lawyer. “Justices Musdapher and Katsina-Alu behaved as if they were Uba’s counsel instead of impartial umpires,” added the lawyer, noting that the court’s alleged scheme to sell a verdict to Uba “would be a low in the history of judicial travesties.”
One legal scholar at the University of Lagos told our correspondent that Uba’s latest case before the apex court “strikes me as a case of a man using his wealth to constitute a legal nuisance.” He said that Nigerians ought to be disturbed “if it turns out that your report about a client bribing justices with impunity is factual.”
In separate interviews, two Lagos-based Anambra indigenes, a businessman and a politician, told our correspondent that the people of Anambra may be forced to resort to extraordinary measures should the ruling party and the Supreme Court connive to impose Uba as governor of the state.
The politician, who belongs to the AC, said Governor Obi should be blamed for “allowing a sinking man like Uba to continue to be a threat to the people of Anambra.” He said Obi could have dismantled Uba’s political machinery if he had wanted to, but pursued a bizarre political alliance with Chuma Nzeribe, a member of the House of Representatives who is widely hated in Anambra.
The businessman said that Uba’s latest effort to hijack Anambra could be warded off if Governor Obi learns to work with “enlightened Anambra citizens from across the board.” He said the Supreme Court’s plot to impose Uba “is part of an agenda to humiliate Igbos,” vowing that such a move would be fiercely resisted.
Our investigations in the past revealed that Uba was a failed businessman before his return to Nigeria in 1999 to serve Obasanjo as senior domestic aide. Inside sources within Obasanjo’s administration said Uba grew close to the former president, and stole a huge fortune while managing Obasanjo’s extensive looting. Today, Uba is reputed to be one of Nigeria’s richest men.
A source in Abuja described Uba and Adokie Bello as “birds of a feather.” He said that, while Uba obviously accumulated his wealth through illegal means, Bello uses material enticement to buy judicial verdicts.
The source added that one of the whispered scandals in Abuja concerns Mr. Bello’s affair with the wife of one of the Supreme Court justices.
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