It has been revealed that Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola has been spotted in London claiming to be a physically challenged old man, in what Supreme Court insiders said was a covert preparation for a meeting with President-elect Bola Tinubu.
Mr Ariwoola’s movement was revealed to Newsmen when Mr Tinubu arrived in London for what his team claimed was a relaxing holiday following his announcement as Nigeria’s president-elect last month.
Mr Tinubu, on the other hand, kept his journey to London hidden until it was revealed on Wednesday afternoon by Sahara Reporters, which claimed the travel was for a medical emergency.
Mr Ariwoola was said to have left Nigeria on March 11 via Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
According to our reports, he was pushed in a wheelchair across the terminals to board a British Airlines flight.
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Mr Ariwoola, 64, was similarly wheeled into a downtown hotel upon his arrival in London, where he has resided ever since. But, Mr Ariwoola abandoned his wheelchair and began going about the facilities unaided shortly after signing in. The Supreme Court Chief Justice is not known to have any physical limitations.
“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.”
According to The Gazette, Mr Ariwoola picked up food ordered through delivery services such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo at a mid-level lobby on multiple occasions. It was unclear if he placed the orders himself or paid for them.
According to our sources, Mr Tinubu is now in Europe and will meet Mr Ariwoola in a secret agreement to address subjects unbeknownst 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.”
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Mr Tinubu’s media aides issued a statement shortly after his journey was reported, stating that he will be in Paris and London for a brief visit before heading to Saudi Arabia for prayer ceremonies.
His return date was not given.
Many Nigerians, however, expressed immediate skepticism about the statement’s trustworthiness, especially since it was not made before the trip was revealed.
“They thought that they could secretly move the president-elect abroad without anybody knowing about it,” a source said. “That’s one of the several mistakes they made on this matter, asides from the belief that they could allow the Chief Justice of Nigeria to move about in a London hotel for several days undetected after going through the trouble of disguising him in a wheelchair.”
To protect a key source in this article, The Gazette has temporarily suppressed the CJN’s pictures and the name of the hotel where he stayed.
According to a Supreme Court source, Mr Ariwoola wanted to meet with Mr Tinubu to address concerns that may come from the looming legal challenge to Mr Tinubu’s proclamation as president-elect, such as whether or not he should be concerned about the petitions recently filed by opposition parties.
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“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 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.”
When The Gazette called to inquire about Mr Ariwoola’s covert journey to London, Festus Akande, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, quickly hung up.
The National Judicial Council refused to comment on Mr Ariwoola’s questionable behavior.
On Thursday afternoon, Mr Tinubu’s spokespersons similarly declined to comment.
Mr Ariwoola’s apparent friendship with Mr Tinubu has persisted despite the heated legal challenge to Mr Tinubu’s election as president-elect and the Supreme Court’s ultimate participation in the legal struggle.
Two main opposition candidates, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, have filed petitions against Mr Tinubu’s emergence, claiming that the procedure that led to the INEC decision was corrupt and unconstitutional.
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Mr Obi, the Labour Party’s candidate in the February 25 election, also sought Mr Tinubu’s disqualification for his involvement in illicit narcotics trading in the United States throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Nigerians are debating the merits of the petitions filed against Mr Tinubu, but they are also concerned about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy as an arbiter of untainted justice.
Apart from the court’s recent contentious judgments, which have severely harmed the court’s reputation — most notably, the decision to re-elect Hope Uzodinma as governor of Imo despite finishing fourth in an election, and the enforcement of Ahmad Lawan as APC candidate in Yobe North Senatorial District despite failing to participate in the primaries — critics say Mr Ariwoola’s conduct has done little to inspire public confidence in the Supreme Court under him.
Mr Ariwoola openly commended Seyi Makinde in November 2022 for working within to damage Mr Abubakar’s candidacy. Mr Ariwoola’s statement was denied by the Supreme Court, however video evidence challenged the denial. Mr Ariwoola was then questioned by the State Security Agency, which was concerned that his remarks could jeopardize the country’s stability.
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Yet, both Mr Ariwoola and the Supreme Court have repeatedly promised Nigerians that justice would be served fairly, as the Constitution requires. A spokeswoman recently stated that Mr Ariwoola may be expected to appoint impartial justices to hear Messrs Abubakar and Obi’s cases when they reach the Supreme Court later this year.
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