Plateau elections: ‘Probe APC’s ‘claim’ of influence over judiciary’ – PDP tells CJN

<p>The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to defend the integrity of the judiciary by immediately setting up a judicial panel of inquiry to probe the boast by leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the party has persons in the judiciary, particularly at the Appeal and Supreme courts, to do the party’s bidding on election cases.</p>, <p>PDP made the call in a statement signed by Debo Ologunagba, its national publicity secretary while reacting to a viral video by an APC leader, Yusuf Gagdi, a member of the House of Representatives from Plateau State, who said: “We have gone to Appeal Court and the final destination is the Supreme Court and we will meet there. That is where we will know whom they know and they will know whom we know.”</p>, <p>PDP also claimed that Gagdi’s statement further confirms the suspicion in the public domain that the APC has set up a special team comprising two of its former governors who are also serving cabinet ministers and a prominent APC leader from the North East Zone with the mandate to ensure the inducement of certain judicial officers to deliver judgements against PDP as witnessed in the series of ‘biased judgements’ by the Plateau State Election Appeal Court panel.</p>, <p>It added that Gagdi also lends credence to allegations that a former APC Governor reportedly induced members of the Plateau State Election Appeal Court panel with $5 million to deliver a biased judgement against Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s victory at the poll, contrary to the position of the law on the nomination of candidates and the already established pronouncement of the Supreme Court that a political party cannot interfere in the internal affairs of another party.</p>, <p>The statement reads in part: “Hon. Gagdi’s declaration perhaps explains why the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel snatched the victories won by PDP candidates in the National Assembly elections in the state and awarded same to defeated APC candidates in varying, contradic