An explosive revelation has been made in the corruption trial of Justice Adeniyi Ademola after a witness alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the embattled judge N500,000 while his certificate controversy was pending before his court.
Recall that in the months leading up to the 2015 general election, some interested parties had filed a suit challenging Mr. Buhari’s candidacy on the grounds that the president did not possess the requisite secondary school certificate to run for the esteemed office.
After a number of adjournments in that trial, the plaintiffs would later drop the suit challenging the president’s eligibility months into his administration.
According to the witness, who is an official of the State Security Service, the said amount was given to judge Ademola through Mr. Buhari’s former lawyer, Kola Awodeyin, PT writes. The witness is also quoted as saying that information on the payment was provided by another senior lawyer, Joe Agi
Though the witness added that he did not consider the money a bribe at the time it was offered, this scathing revelation is bound to deal a fatal blow to the anti-corruption drive of the Buhari-led APC government.
Justice Ademola alongside his wife, Olubowale, and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe Agi, is being prosecuted by the Nigerian government on charges of corruption and money laundering.
However, the federal judge has denied the charges and requested accelerated hearing at the trial in Abuja.
Details as they unfold…
