I didn’t transfer Delta poll petition case – CJN – TheNigerialawyer

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, on Monday,
warned that rumor-mongers “would be made to face the full weight of
the law to serve as deterrent to the several others”.

In a statement by the Director of Press and Information, Supreme
Court, Dr Festus Akande, denied issuing a directive for the
transfer of a House of Representatives election petition case in
Delta State from Panel III to Panel II of the National Assembly
Election Petitions Tribunal.

The CJN was referring to a case between the representative of
Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency in the National Assembly,
Nicholas Mutu, and Collins Eselomo of the All Progressives
Congress.

Eselomo, who is challenging the Independent National Electoral
Commission’s declaration of Mutu of the Peoples Democratic Party as
the winner of the February 23 poll, in June petitioned the CJN,
requesting the transfer of the case to another tribunal panel over
alleged judicial misconduct in the handling of his case by the
panel originally hearing it.

Muhammad said he never issued any letter for the transfer of the
case.

The statement read in part, “The office of the Chief Justice of
Nigeria has never at any time issued a letter or query of any sort
with such information to the said panel and if at all such
information was to be communicated, we have our well-established
official channel to do it.

“We, therefore, enjoin the public, particularly politicians, to
always conduct themselves with decorum and respect, especially when
making weighty allegations and insinuations of that nature, as the
consequences are always dire and far-reaching. For the umpteenth
time, rumor-mongers and peddlers of malicious information should
endeavour to apply caution and toe the path of honour and
dignity.

“Anybody caught spreading such misleading and harmful
information will certainly be made to face the full weight of the
law to serve as a deterrent to the several others who are waiting
eagerly in the queue to administer their own dose of infectious
falsehood on the unsuspecting public.”

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