Minister of transport and
former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi has fired back at
Justice Inyang Okoro for the several allegations levelled against him, the
presidency for allegedly approaching him (Justice Okon) to influence the appeal
judgments in Rivers, Abia and Akwa Ibom States to ‘favour’ the Party (APC) and
their candidates.
 |
| Mr. Rotimi Amaechi |
Amaechi in a statement he
signed Wednesday said the allegations against him are “wild, baseless and
unrelated to the issues in contention between the Honourable Justice of the
Supreme Court and the Department of State Services.”
Amaechi said as the
nation’s minister of transport, he has no control over the operations and
officials of the DSS.
See full statement:
SPECIAL STATEMENT
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
IN THE MATTER OF THE
ARREST OF HONOURABLE JUSTICE INYANG OKORO JSC BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
SECURITY SERVICES AND HIS UNFOUNDED AND FALSE ALLEGATIONS
My attention has
been drawn to a letter purportedly written by Honourable Justice Inyang Okoro
JSC, Justice of the Supreme Court, one of the Learned Justices recently
arrested by the Department of State Services as part of its investigation into
the allegations of massive corruption involving some officers of the Nigerian
Judiciary. Given the level of mischief in the Social Media, I would ordinarily
have ignored the letter because the allegations contained in the said letter
are wild, baseless and unrelated to the issues in contention between the
Honourable Justice of the Supreme Court and the Department of State Services,
to that extent I had grave reservation if this letter could have emanated from
His Lordship.
However, for the
avoidance of doubt, let me say clearly that I have never discussed any matter
pending before the Supreme Court of Nigeria with my Lord, Honourable Justice
Inyang Okoro JSC, in his house or anywhere else, Period. I make bold to also
state that the first and only time I have ever spoken with the Chief Justice of
Nigeria, the Honourable Justice Mahmud Mohammed GCON was at the Commissioning of
the Abuja-Kaduna Railway Project on the 26th of July 2016 at Idu in Abuja.
The letter by Honourable
Justice Okoro is a poor attempt to politicize what is clearly a serious
National tragedy and shame. I believe that the issues of corruption at the
highest levels of our judiciary should be addressed objectively. It is to say
the least demeaning and childish of a Justice of the Supreme Court to imply
that the security operatives of our nation will arrest a Justice of our Supreme
Court for no reason other than the instructions of a Minister. Those faced with
serious allegations should treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves and
stop trying to court public sympathy and trivialize what is clearly a national
tragedy.
I have directed my
lawyers to contact my Lord Justice Okoro and take whatever legal steps as may
be necessary to clear my name of this baseless allegation.
Finally, let me advise
His Lordship Justice Inyang Okoro to be objective in dealing with the issue at
hand and not whip up unnecessary sentiments against innocent public officers. I
remain focused on my assignment at the Federal Ministry of Transportation and I
have no control over Department of State Services.
Courtesy: The News Guru
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