The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2015 Akwa Ibom elections, Umana Okon Umana has denied bribing a judge.
The allegation was made by Justice Okoro, one of the judges who was recently arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on charges of fraud.
“Justice
Okoro’s claim is an afterthought and diversionary. For a man of his
standing and knowledge of the law, he should have known the legal
implications of such a visit if it took place at all,” Umana said via a statement released on Tuesday, October 18.
“He
should have reported to the appropriate authorities immediately. This
he didn’t do. I did not visit the Judge. His story is a fiction. He
should address himself to the facts of the case which is between him and
the state and leave Umana out of it,” he added.
Okoro also accused Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi of attempted bribery.
”My
Lord, I strongly believe that this my travail is not unconnected with
the verbal report I made to you on 1st February, 2016 about the visit to
my official residence by HE, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers
State and now Minister of Transportation,” Okoro said in his
October 17 letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of
the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Mahmud Mohammed.
“In
that report, I told you My Lord, that Mr. Amaechi said that the
President of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress mandated him to
inform me that they must win their election appeals in respect of Rivers
State, Akwa Ibom State and Abia State at all costs.
“For
Akwa Ibom State, he alleged that he sponsored Mr. Umana Umana,
candidate of All Progressives Congress for that election and that if he
lost Akwa Ibom appeal, he would have lost a fortune. Mr. Amaechi also
said that he had already visited you and that you had agreed to make me a
member of the panel that would hear the appeals.
“He
further told me that Mr. Umana would be paying me millions of naira
monthly if I co-operated with them. My response, as I told you on that
date was that it does not lie within my power to grant his request and
that I would do all within my power not to be in the panel for Akwa Ibom
State. My Lord graciously left me out of the panel for Akwa Ibom
State,” he added.
Amaechi has also denied the allegations.
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