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Comrade Timi Frank, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and political activist, has raised urgent concerns over alleged attempts to manipulate the Supreme Court’s recent judgment on a Rivers State case involving local government elections and legislative authority.
In a statement issued to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Frank accused loyalists of a former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, of orchestrating a “desperate lobby” to insert unaddressed issues of lawmakers’ defection into the apex court’s finalized ruling. He warned that such interference could undermine pending defection cases at the Appeal Court and Federal High Court.
The Supreme Court’s judgment, delivered earlier, centered on disputes related to the conduct of local government elections and the legitimacy of Martin Amaewhule’s claim to the Rivers State House of Assembly speakership. Frank emphasized that the matter of defection – specifically, the legality of 27 state lawmakers’ switch from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in December 2023 —was never litigated during the proceedings.
“There is an ongoing plot to doctor the Supreme Court judgment and insert issues of defection that were not decided by the court,” Frank stated. He alleged that Wike’s allies aim to predetermine outcomes in lower courts, where the defection case hinges on whether the lawmakers’ crossover violated constitutional provisions requiring a party division to justify such moves. Notably, the defected legislators had sworn a court affidavit affirming no division existed within the PDP at the time.
Frank further claimed to possess insider information indicating that lawyers linked to Wike collaborated with “elements in the Supreme Court” to add “over two pages of strange rulings on defection” into the judgment’s Certified True Copy (CTC), which is expected imminently. He described the alleged maneuver as a bid to “destroy pending cases” and accused Wike’s camp of “political madness threatening constitutional democracy.”
The activist urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Supreme Court panel to safeguard the integrity of their ruling, stressing that the defection issue “was not the subject matter” of the case they adjudicated. “We are confident the eminent jurists will not fail Nigerians,” Frank added, calling for vigilance to prevent “irredeemable damage” to the judiciary’s reputation.
The Supreme Court has not yet responded to the allegations.
Meanwhile, the controversy highlights escalating tensions in Rivers State, where political rivalries have fueled legal battles since the defected lawmakers lost their seats.
Political pundits believe that professional adjudication of the pending defection cases would set a precedent for interpreting constitutional limits on party – switching by elected officials – a recurring flashpoint in Nigerian politics.
