Kano Govt Reacts to Lawyer’s Intent to Bribe Election Tribunal Judge Flora Azinge
Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, who is in charge of the election petitions tribunal, raised a warning about bribery, and the Kano government has expressed worry about it. Ms. Azinge had said that there was an attempt to pay off a member of the panel so that justice would go in favor of a client of a lawyer.
She complained in open court on Tuesday in Kano before a session started about how many top lawyers do things that aren’t right.
A statement signed by information commissioner Baba Halilu Dantiye said, “The attention of the Kano state government has been drawn to an allegation made by the chairman of the Kano National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Hon. Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, that there was an attempt to bribe a member of the tribunal with money to sway Justice because, according to her, “money has been flying in the Tribunal.”
Mr. Dantiye said that the Kano government was very worried about the event because there is a strong rumor that “strong forces who are known for being corrupt are working hard to destroy the hard-won mandate of the people of Kano state.”
The commissioner said that the Kano government saw the incident as a litmus test for the current administration to show Nigerians that it was serious about fighting corruption and protecting democratic principles by making sure the case was fully probed and the people responsible were brought to justice.
Since a reputable judge made this kind of accusation in open court, Mr. Dantiye said, “The anti-corruption agencies should also act quickly.”
Mr. Dantiye said that the Kano government was happy with Ms. Azinge’s actions because they showed that “there is still hope in the Nigerian judiciary” and that “there are many judges and justices in our country with a high sense of integrity.”
“The state government also thanked the good people of Kano, who voted the NNPP into power with more than a million votes at a time when they didn’t have federal, state, local, or financial resources,” said the Kano commissioner.
Mr. Dantiye also said, “The government takes note of and appreciates the fact that the people of Kano are ready to defend their mandate in any way possible.”
