Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, has been allegedly sighted in London pretending to be a physically-challenged old man.
A Supreme Court source said he was secretly in London for a meeting with Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Media outfit, Peoples Gazette disclosed that Ariwoola’s movement was exposed as Tinubu was arriving in London for what his team claimed was a relaxation trip after a hectic campaign that preceded his declaration as Nigeria’s president-elect last month.
Tinubu kept his trip to London secret until it was exposed on Wednesday afternoon by source who have said that the trip was a medical emergency.
It was gathered that Ariwoola departed Nigeria on March 11 through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Justice Ariwoola who is not known with any physical disabilities was seen being pushed in a wheelchair through the terminals to board a British Airways flight, the sources explained.
Upon arrival in London, Ariwoola, 64, was reported to have been wheeled into a hotel downtown, where he had remained.
But immediately after checking into the hotel, the Supreme Court head abandoned his wheelchair and started moving around the facility unaided.
“He has been moving about in the hotel without any wheelchair,” a source familiar with the CJN’s activities at the London accommodation told Peoples Gazette.
“He was standing on his own in the elevator just yesterday,” the source added.
Furthermore, Mr Ariwoola reportedly picked up food ordered via delivery services at a mid-level lobby, including Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
“The CJN deliberately left the country more than a week ahead of Tinubu to avoid any suspicion about why both of them disappeared at once.
“That is why he travelled secretly and Tinubu also travelled secretly,” a source familiar with the development told Peoples Gazette.
“They thought that they could secretly move the president-elect abroad without anybody knowing about it.
“That’s one of the several mistakes they made on this matter, asides from the belief that they could allow the Chief Justice of Nigeria to move about in a London hotel for several days undetected after going through the trouble of disguising him in a wheelchair,” a source added.
According to a Supreme Court source, Mr. Ariwoola wanted to meet Tinubu to discuss issues that may arise from the budding legal challenge to the declaration as President-elect, including whether or not he should be worried about the petitions recently filed by opposition parties.
“The CJN would either assure Tinubu of victory in court or tell him that he should be worried about the dimension the petitions may take through the court stages.
“But we may never know what they actually discussed after their secret meeting,” the source said under anonymity to avoid facing administrative action for divulging privileged information to reporters.
“I am reluctant to start thinking about their meeting right now.
“But any fair-minded person will easily admit that both of them meeting in a foreign corner to discuss something that Nigerians will not know about is highly suspicious and should be unwarranted,” the source added.
Festus Akande, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, abruptly declined when he was asked to comment about Ariwoola’s trip to London.
The National Judicial Council declined comments about Mr. Ariwoola’s suspicious activity. Similarly, Tinubu’s spokespersons have declined comments on Thursday afternoon, Peoples Gazette reports further.
