Supreme Court reacts to claim that justice accompanied Wike to UNICAL’s convocation

The Supreme Court has denied media speculations that one of its justices, Emmanuel Agim, accompanied the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to the University of Calabar (UNICAL)’s convocation ceremony on Saturday, 22 March.

The Supreme Court’s Director of Information & Public Relations, Festus Akande, issued the denial in a statement on Monday.

“We wish to emphasise that Justice Emmanuel Agim’s participation at the ceremony was independent and not as an official representative of any government ministry or department, let alone accompanying any serving or retired government official.

“Any insinuation to the contrary is not only inaccurate but undermines the judicial independence that is crucial to our democracy,” the statement reads in part.

Reports had circulated that Mr Agim, who who hails from Cross River State, the host state for the federal government-owned UNICAL, had accompanied Mr Wike to the convocation ceremony of the university after he was spotted in a picture sitting next to the FCT minister at the event.

The report gained traction after a human rights lawyer and former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, shared the picture on X, while also alleging political interference in the Rivers State’s judgement on the Rivers State political crisis on 28 February.

Mr Agim was the one who delivered the lead judgement of the panel of Supreme Court justices that sat on the matter.

The unannimous judgement ordering Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State to re-present the state’s 2025 budget to the properly constituted state House of Assembly and recognising the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers in the 32-member House, was believed to have favoured Mr Wike, a key actor in the political crisis in the state who is opposed to Mr Fubara.

The political crisis had taken a new dimension, resulting in violent attacks on oil installations, which culminated in the recent state of emergency Preside nt Bola Tinubu declared in the state. The highly controversial declaration included suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy and the state’s House of Assembly. A sole administrator will now govern the state for six months while the elected officials remain on suspension.

Fubara counters Tinubu’s accusations, blames Wike for attacks on oil pipelines

In the statement, the Supreme Court clarified that Mr Agim attended the convocation as an honouree and an alumnus of the University of Calabar.
The statement added that the governing council of the institution had extended the invitation to him after deeming him fit to be conferred with an honorary doctorate degree in law due to his contributions to the legal profession.

Mr Agim, who previously served as a chief of justice in both Gambia and Swaziland, was also a member of the ECOWAS Council of Chief of Justices.

He currently occupies the ninth position in the hierarchy of the 20 justices of the Nigerian Supreme Court.

The statement said Mr Agim had attended the convocation ceremony after getting permission from the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court urged the media and the public to always verify reports from credible sources to avoid spreading misinformation.