Justice Bulkachuwa not indicted by DSS – Official

The Department of State Services (DSS) has denied that it indicted Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, Chairman, Presidential Election Tribunal, for bribery and corruption.

Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr Peter Afunanya, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, in reaction to reports of such indictment of the judge by DSS.

He urged the public to disregard the report, saying it only existed in the imagination of the authors.

Afunanya described the report as “unfortunate”, adding that making the falsehood public was unethical.

He said the service had commenced a detailed investigation into the controversies surrounding the publication.

The spokesman advised politicians to be law-abiding and respect the process of litigations regarding the activities of the tribunal “and leave the service alone”.

He said that the service would continue to collaborate with the media as strategic partners in nationbuilding.

Afunanya also admonished media practitioners to be lawabiding and professional in the execution of their responsibility.

He warned mischief makers causing disaffection in the polity to desist from such acts as the full weight of the law would be visited on them.

“The DSS remains unwavering in providing the enabling environment for the pursuit of legitimate aspirations by well-meaning and lawabiding members of the populace.”

“Attacking judges because the outcomes of cases don’t favour you and keeping quiet when the verdict is in your favour smacks of insincerity, double standard and mischief. The PDP praised the verdict of the Osun gubernatorial election tribunal because it favoured them, but they are now singing a different tune because they lost their appeal.

“If the PDP continues to blackmail and smear judges with fake news stories, we will ultimately find ourselves dealing with a situation where judges may be afraid to handle cases, thereby creating delays in the dispensation of justice.” (NAN)