HOW EL-RUFAI’S MEDIA AIDE, MUYIWA ADEKEYE USED SAHARAREPORTERS TO SUBVERT JUSTICE



‘’Pray there ain’t any more surprises’’ was a classic back in the days from the series named ‘’Make Me a Stone’’ which ranks as one my favourite movie series of all time with characters like Malcolm, Kaylee and Simon.



It was indeed a suspense filled movie; everyone had a hidden talent none knew about and the complicated discoveries within the chapters were fairly exhausting to the point that one would pray that there were no more surprises.

The drama that ensued today at the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja to determine the legal validity of the Code of Conduct Tribunal’s false declaration probe against the Senate President - from his first gubernatorial bid in 2003 - just brought to light the memories of that wonderful piece of comic drama that I l could not resist watching while I was growing up.

For once, I was seated so close to the pulpit of justice in readiness for the proceedings of day. We were expecting the Chief Justice to walk in and begin reading the valuable points submitted by the plaintiff and representatives of the federal government in order to ensure a fair hearing that would eventually lead to the final judgement. Alas, my naive colleagues and I, who were anxiously expecting justice to be served were quickly reminded that they were on a goose chase engulfed in phantom fantasies as the case was flagrantly adjourned indefinitely without any official reason for such actions.     

Obviously, I was not surprised at the turn of events; I was only moved by the uneasiness of the court clerk as he walked in to announce that there would be no sitting on that day. He was restive, and one could tell that he was seconds away from purging on the spot.  At this point, my angst was relived; I could recall the insiders intel from a credible source intimating me of Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s through his media aide- Muyiwa Adekeye had pledged to compensate the judges should they succeed in ruling against Senator Bukola Saraki or delay the long arm of justice for as long as possible in order to allow the Code of Conduct Tribunal enjoy a fun-filled day at the detriment to the sacredness of the rule of law.

By their calculation, they are expected to provide evidences and testify against Bukola Saraki just to nail him at all cost for not bowing to the wishes of the political godfathers within his party.

However, the barrage of media tantrums being peddled, and coordinated by Yele Sowore (Founder, Saharareporters) and Mr Muyiwa Adekeye in my opinion remain petty, even though Saharareporters has been used as the anchorage platform for their hatchet job; they scored a new low today with their hurriedly assembled article which was published a few hours to the Court of Appeal ruling to pre-empt the outcome of the ruling to douse any suspicion of their collaborations with the bribed judges and the eventual outcome of the ruling.

The ruling was clear enough; the judgement was to be read in favour of Senator Bukola Saraki but they are conmen and would not give up until they achieve their selfish aims. Little wonder, the chief counsel to the federal government Mr Rotimi Jacobs was conspicuously missing at the court having been pre-informed that the court would not rule today.  His new romance with the Chairman of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal Danladi Umar- who was a former Personal Assistant to Mallam El-Rufai explains the re-ignition of mischief maker running a ring to achieve the same purpose.          

The way and manner Senator Bukola Saraki has carried on with his duties as the leader of the 8th Assembly without according his detractors the much craved attention will only aggravate them until they burn out completely.

Unknown to them, the more the godfathers stay awoken to plot Saraki’s fall, the more successes he achieves, thus increasing his popularity.

So after this, are you still praying that there ain’t any more surprises? The times ahead promise to be drama filled. The dangerous trend, however, is the use of the law by the powerful forces as cloak to evade justice. Is this is the sort of politically motivated justice that Nigerians were promised? Time will tell.



Kuddi Haastrup writes from Lagos.