Defection: Frank Raises Alarm Over Alleged Plot to Tamper with Supreme Court Verdicts on Rivers

Comrade Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and political activist, has raised an alarm over alleged efforts to manipulate the recent Supreme Court verdict concerning Rivers State. Frank, in a statement released on Tuesday in Abuja, warned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kere-ekun, and the panel of justices who heard the case, not to allow attempts to tamper with the judgment.

Frank accused certain individuals loyal to a former governor of Rivers State of trying to introduce the issue of defection—which is still pending at the Appeal Court—into the Supreme Court ruling. This, he said, was a desperate move to undermine the ongoing cases regarding defection in the state.

Frank described the attempts as a “desperate lobby” to include aspects in the judgment that were never part of the original case. According to him, the issue of defection involving 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who recently switched from the PDP to the APC, is still being litigated in the Appeal Court and Federal High Court. He stated that the defection issue, which is the subject of a legal battle, was not part of the Supreme Court ruling and must not be introduced into it.

“There is an ongoing plot to doctor the Supreme Court judgment on Rivers and insert issues of defection that were not litigated by the parties by the pro-Wike group to help destroy the pending cases on defection before the Appeal Court and Federal High Court,” Frank alleged.

Frank further emphasized that the defection issue, which concerns whether the 27 lawmakers were right in crossing over to the APC when no crisis existed in the PDP, is still under judicial consideration. He urged the Supreme Court justices to ensure that the defection issue is not secretly added to the judgment, as it would undermine the integrity of the Court.

According to Frank, the efforts are being led by former Governor Nyesom Wike and his legal team, who are allegedly attempting to insert a ruling on the legality of the defected lawmakers’ actions into the ongoing judgment concerning the Rivers Local Government Area (LGA) elections and budget presentation. He further claimed that the issue of defection was never part of the lower court rulings or the Supreme Court’s substantive matter, which focused on the LGA elections and federal allocation to Rivers State.

Frank concluded by urging the Supreme Court to act swiftly and prevent this alleged attempt to manipulate the judgment, as it would damage the reputation and integrity of the nation’s apex court. He expressed confidence that the justices would not allow such political manipulation to succeed.