Government

Nigeria’s Chief Justice Swears in 18 Appeal Court Justices

  • North 11, South 7

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, has sworn in 18 judges recently elevated to the Court of Appeal.

The new justices of the Court of Appeal are Mohammed Danjuma (Niger State), Muhammad Sirajo (Plateau), Abdul-Azeez Waziri (Adamawa), Yusuf Bashir (Taraba), Usman Musale (Yobe), Ibrahim Jauro (Yobe), Abba Mo- hammed (Kano State), Bature Gafai (Katsina), Danlami Senchi (Kebbi), and Mohammed Abubakar (Sokoto).

Others are Hassan Sule (Zamfara), Kenneth Amadi (Imo), Peter Affen (Bayelsa), Sybil Gbagi (Delta), Olasunbo Goodluck (Lagos), Adebukola Banjoko (Ogun), Olabode Adegbehingbe (Ondo), and Bola Ademola (Ondo).

The list comprises 11 judges from the North and 7 from the South.

There have been allegations that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has been making lopsided appointments that favour the North, allegations the Presidency has denied.

Akpabio’s aide petitions IGP, seeks probe of Tunde Ednut, Rufai Oseni over ‘cyber-attacks’.

Kenny Okolugbo, special adviser on communications and strategy to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), over alleged cyber-attacks and a defamation campaign he claimed were orchestrated by popular social media influencers.

In the petition dated June 16, 2025, Okolugbo alleged that his verified account on X (formerly Twitter) was hacked and used to circulate a false statement, which was then embellished and shared by three influencers, Tunde Ednut (@mazitundeednut), Rufai Oseni (@ruffydfire), and Adeola Fayehun (@ adeolafayehun).

“These allegations are not only untrue but impossible based on verified evidence,” he wrote.

He alleged that the influencers added fabricated content, including allegations of phone cloning, voice manipulation, and a supposed meeting in London, to amplify the false narrative.

“Most disturbing is that the fabricated post was simultaneously circulated and embellished by these influencers using identical language and coordinated timing, pointing to a syndicated dis- information campaign,” Okolugbo said.

He alleged that the campaign was designed to bolster earlier allegations made by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, and was aimed at damaging his reputation.

Okolugbo urged the police to investigate the alleged hacking of his account and prosecute those responsible for impersonation and cyber defamation under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.

He also requested the preservation of digital evidence from social media platforms and third-party service providers to sup- port forensic analysis.

Okolugbo attached travel documents to the petition, showing that he had not travelled to London in 2025 and that his last visit to the United Kingdom (UK) was in November 2024.

He said the claims of meetings abroad were fabricated and part of a deliberate smear effort.

On March 6, Okolugbo claimed the seat arrangement controversy between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio was exacerbated by her lingering resentment over being removed as the chairperson of the senate committee on local content.

“The fact of the matter was that her seat was removed, and there was already bottled-up anger because she was removed from the local content committee,” Okolugbo said.

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