People gazette on Thursday reported that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Olukayode Ariwoola has been sighted in London pretending to be a physically-challenged old man.
The online newspaper best known for its investigative reporting, reported that it learnt “in what Supreme Court source said was a clandestine preparation for a meeting between President-elect Bola Tinubu.”
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The newspaper went on to state that Mr Ariwoola’s movement was exposed to it as Mr Tinubu was arriving in London for what his team claimed was a relaxation trip after a hectic campaign that preceded his declaration as Nigeria’s president-elect last month.
However, Mr Tinubu’s trip to London was kept secret until it was exposed on Wednesday afternoon Sahara Reporters, which said the trip was a medical emergency.
Shortly after Mr Tinubu’s trip was reported, his media aides issued a statement saying he was going to be in Paris and London briefly before heading to Saudi Arabia for prayer rites. His return date was not disclosed.
Mr Ariwoola was reported to have departed Nigeria on March 11 via Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. He was pushed in a wheelchair through the terminals to board a British Airways flight, our sources said.
Upon arrival in London, Mr Ariwoola, 64, was also wheeled into a hotel downtown, where he has remained ever since. But immediately after checking into the hotel, Mr Ariwoola abandoned his wheelchair and started moving around the facility unaided. The Supreme Court head is not known with any physical disabilities.
“He has been moving about in the hotel without any wheelchair,” a source familiar with the CJN’s activities at the London accommodation told The Gazette. “He was standing on his own in the elevator just yesterday.”
Citing its sources, Peoples gazette reported that with Mr Tinubu now in Europe, he would be meeting Mr Ariwoola in a secret arrangement to discuss issues unknown to Nigerians.
“The CJN deliberately left the country more than a week ahead of Tinubu to avoid any suspicion about why both of them disappeared at once,” a source familiar said. “That is why he travelled secretly and Tinubu also travelled secretly.”
The Gazette went on to report that it has temporarily withheld the CJN’s photos and the specific hotel he stayed in to protect a source central to this story.
Going further, it reported that a Supreme Court source said Mr Ariwoola wanted to meet Mr Tinubu to discuss issues that may arise from the budding legal challenge to the declaration as president-elect, including whether or not he should be worried about the petitions recently filed by opposition parties.
“The CJN would either assure Tinubu of victory in court or tell him that he should be worried about the dimension the petitions may take through the court stages,” the source said under anonymity to avoid facing administrative action for divulging privileged information to reporters. “But we may never know what they actually discussed after their secret meeting.”
“I am reluctant to start thinking about the {outcome} of their meeting right now,” the source added. “But any fair-minded person will easily admit that both of them meeting in a foreign corner to discuss something that Nigerians will not know about is highly suspicious and should be unwarranted.”
The Gazette reported that Festus Akande, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, abruptly hung up when it requested comment about Mr Ariwoola’s secret trip to London.
The National Judicial Council was reported to have declined comments about Mr Ariwoola’s suspicious activity, just as Mr Tinubu’s spokepersons also declined comments on Thursday afternoon.
The National Judicial Council is a body established under section 153(1) of the 1999 Constitution with powers relating to appointments and exercise of disciplinary control over Judicial Officers specified in paragraph 21 of Part I of the Third Schedule of the Constitution.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
