The reported sudden death of two justices who sat on the Election Petition Tribunal that upheld the election victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 elections have been debunked.
A trending social media report had alleged that two Justices – Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf and Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo, who were part of the five-man Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that upheld Tinubu’s election, had suddenly died the same day under mysterious circumstances.
According to the viral claim: “Justice Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf, one of the five judges who presided over the electoral case, was confirmed dead by her family earlier today. According to family members, she was in good health the previous night before going to bed. However, when they attempted to wake her the following morning, she was unresponsive. The cause of her death remains unknown at this time.
“In a separate but equally troubling incident, Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo was also found dead following a loud noise from his room around 2 a.m. Family members reportedly broke down his door after hearing the disturbance and discovered him bleeding and unresponsive.”
OsunDailyNG reports the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Court of Appeal, in separate reactions, have, however, said that there is no truth in reports about the mysterious deaths of the prominent judges.
The Secretary of the NJC, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, assured that the two Justices were alive and at their duty posts.
“Please ignore the news, it is a lie. The Justices are alive, well and doing their jobs,” Mr. Saleh assured.
Similarly, a top official of the Court of Appeal who spoke to Vanguard in confidence, said the Justices are alive and doing well, adding that mischief makers are behind the trending news and the reported deaths should be ignored.
“It is totally false and mischievous. Their Lordships are well and in good health. It is most unfortunate that mischief makers will sit at a corner and wish death on others. Please ignore the false news,” the court official added.
The judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was delivered on September 6, 2023, in favour of President Bola Tinubu, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
