THE Federal High Court has debunked a report claiming Justice James Omotosho survived an assassination attempt after he handed the life sentence on the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu as “fake news”.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, a blogger had reported on his Facebook page that Justice Omotosho survived an assassination attempt on Saturday morning, days after handing down the life sentence to Kanu.
The blogger claimed that Justice Omotosho was immediately rushed to a hospital as security forces scrambled to secure the area.
Reacting to the claim, the Chief Registrar of FHC, Sulaiman Hassan, in a statement on Sunday morning, said the report was untrue, tagging it “Rebuttal to False Publication by ‘Celebrity Blogger’.
“The attention of the Federal High Court has been drawn to a publication by CELEBRITY BLOGGER, alleging that the Honourable Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, survived an assassination attempt following the life sentence imposed on Nnamdi Kanu.
“We hereby firmly and unequivocally declare that the said report is completely false and unfounded. The public is advised to treat this publication as fake news and refrain from further dissemination to prevent the spread of misinformation,” Hassan wrote.
Hassan, urged relevant security agencies to launch a probe into the report with a view to arresting and prosecuting the culprits in line with the laws.
“Given the gravity of the report, which has the potential to cause panic and undermine confidence in the judicial system, possibly intended as a form of intimidation, we call on the relevant security agencies and regulatory authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
“The goal is to identify and apprehend the perpetrators responsible for this false report and prosecute them in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly those relating to cybercrime, defamation, and public misinformation,” Hassan added.
The ICIR reports that that this claim emerged few days after Justice Omotosho had handed Nnamdi Kanu life sentence ‘out of mercy’ after finding him guilty of the seven-count terrorism offences on Thursday.
The judge sentenced him to life imprisonment in relation to counts one, two, four, five, and six, which carried a death sentence each.
Omotosho found him guilty of all counts one to seven, including his sit-at-home order resulting in economic losses and death of innocent people in the South-East, being a member of a proscribed organisation and committing acts of terrorism, and threatening anyone who failed to obey his order.
The court also found him guilty of inciting the killings of Nigerian security personnel, and for making broadcasts to kill people.
Besides, he was found guilty of committing an act of terrorism against the Federal Republic of Nigeria by threatening that people would die and the world would be at a standstill during a live broadcast.
However, he said that to further extend the mercy on the defendant, counts three and seven would run concurrently, giving a directive that the IPOB leader be kept in protective custody in any part of the country, but not in Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, and that the radio transmitter be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The judge also ordered that while in custody, Kanu should be restricted from making use of digital devices to prevent him from further incitement, if he must make use of a digital device, this must be closely monitored by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He also held that other exhibits found with the IPOB leader, the prosecuting agency, which is the Department of State Services, could bring an application for forfeiture to the Federal Government after the expiration of 90 days of appeal.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.