Nigeria’s legal community is pushing for a criminal investigation after explosive claims by a senior opposition figure suggested behind-the-scenes access to Supreme Court justices during a contested election.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says it will petition the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies over comments by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), which legal observers say imply interference in the judicial process.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, recently told supporters that during the 2019 Kano governorship election dispute, he personally took Abba Yusuf—now the state’s governor—to meet Supreme Court justices after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive.
The Supreme Court later ruled in favour of then-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing Yusuf’s petition.
Kwankwaso revisited the episode while addressing supporters following Yusuf’s recent defection from the NNPP to the APC, framing the 2019 election as a grave injustice and describing what he said were extraordinary efforts to salvage Yusuf’s mandate.
Retired Justices Push Back
Two retired justices of Nigeria’s Supreme Court have since issued categorical denials.
Hon. Justice Musa Muhammad Dattijo, who retired in October 2023, said he never met Kwankwaso or Yusuf at any time while serving on the apex court.
“I speak only for myself,” Dattijo said in a statement released through Law & Society Magazine. “At no time did I meet Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso or Governor Abba Yusuf, whether in connection with the election or any other matter.”
He challenged Kwankwaso to provide specific details of the alleged visits—dates, locations, and the names of justices involved—warning that broad, unsubstantiated claims risk damaging the reputations of judicial officers who may have had no involvement whatsoever.
Dattijo cautioned politicians against dragging judges into partisan disputes, noting that such rhetoric fuels public cynicism toward the courts.
“Judicial accountability must be pursued through evidence and due process,” he said, “not sweeping political narratives.”
Another retired justice, Hon. Justice Ejembi Eko, issued an even sharper rebuttal, describing Kwankwaso’s claim—as it relates to him—as “false and preposterous.”
“I have never, in my lifetime, met either Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso or Abba Yusuf anywhere,” Eko said. “I have never had any form of contact with either of these two characters.”
Justice Eko, who retired in May 2022, said he did not sit on any Supreme Court panel that heard appeals arising from the 2019 Kano governorship dispute.
Call for Criminal Investigation
Beyond denying the allegation, Justice Eko called on the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, INEC, and security agencies to investigate what he described as a potentially self-incriminating confession.
“If true, the claim would amount to an attempt to pervert the course of justice,” he said, adding that he was prepared to cooperate fully with any investigation.
NBA Steps In
Reacting to the controversy, the NBA said its National Executive Council (NEC) deliberated on the remarks after they generated widespread public attention.
In a statement shared by Etaba Agbor, secretary of the NBA Young Lawyers’ Forum, the association said claims suggesting improper access to judicial officers—whether explicit or implied—are capable of undermining public confidence in the judiciary and Nigeria’s electoral justice system.
The NBA said its planned petition would not be limited to Kwankwaso alone but would cover any individual who has made statements or admissions implying undue influence over judicial decision-making.
“The objective is not to presume guilt,” the association said, “but to ensure that allegations of this gravity are subjected to thorough, impartial, and professional investigation.”
The NEC mandated the NBA’s national leadership to formally petition the police and other relevant agencies, stressing that false claims of judicial interference are “dangerous and corrosive to constitutional democracy,” while insisting that proven misconduct must attract accountability under the law.
High Stakes for Nigeria’s Democracy
The controversy comes amid political upheaval in Kano following Yusuf’s defection to the APC and renewed scrutiny of Nigeria’s electoral justice system, long criticised for politicisation and inconsistent rulings.
With two retired Supreme Court justices now publicly distancing themselves from Kwankwaso’s claims, pressure is mounting on authorities to determine whether the remarks were reckless political rhetoric—or an admission warranting criminal investigation.
Few allegations cut deeper in a constitutional democracy than claims that the country’s highest court was lobbied behind closed doors.
