By Fredrick Nwabufo

I have taken some time to study the allegations against Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president. Though I cannot determine the veracity or vacuity of the claims, I am concerned about the antecedents of their founts.

Since June 2015 when Ekweremadu emerged as deputy senate president he has been assailed by political soldiers of fortune. The reason for this could be linked to his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – the opposition. It is within the gamut of reason to say Ekweremadu’s emergence is still a bad dream some people would want to wish away.

I have not met the deputy senate president in person; he does not know me, but this is me trying to make sense of all the allegations. Politics in Nigeria is dangerous. And traducers are never in short supply. The sudden “revelations” look like a plot hatched in a coven of detractors. And they seem to have a spurious blemish.

One of Ekweremadu’s accusers is Justice I. A. Umezulike, former Enugu chief judge.  Umezulike was dismissed by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in 2017 for alleged misconduct and forgery.

The NJC accused the former judge of receiving a bribe to forge a judgment. It also accused him of several other judicial malfeasances.  Is it then wrong to assume that the ex-judge is being used to blackmail the deputy senate president for some not-so-kosher reasons?  Another accuser is one Barrister Ike Tagbo, who is alleged to be Umezulike’s go-to person. What is the endgame?

From my understanding of Nigerian politics, allegations come first after which a trial by the media follows, and then the victim is forced to kowtow to “the order” or part with some money. In some cases, the endgame is more sinister, which is the ruination of political career.

I have always restrained myself to go all wild whenever allegations are levelled against anybody. I have seen it happen before. Even President Muhammadu Buhari was accused of forging his secondary school certificate in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election. The matter went to court. The endgame, at the point, was to disqualify him from the election. Our politics is dangerous, and citizens must learn to probe any allegation. A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing.

Nwabufo is a writer, journalist and media entrepreneur. He can be reached on @Twitter: FredrickNwabufo, Facebook: Fredrick Nwabufo