Kwankwaso Under Fire: Retired Justice Issues Scathing Statement

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Musa Muhammad Dattijo, has issued a pointed clarification following claims by former Kano State governor and national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that he visited the homes of Supreme Court justices to plead over Abba Yusuf’s election dispute.

Naija News reports that Justice Dattijo stressed that he was speaking strictly for himself, insisting that at no time did he meet Kwankwaso or Governor Abba Yusuf, whether in relation to the election or any other matter, while he served on the apex court.

The retired justice, who bowed out of the Supreme Court on October 27, 2023, made the clarification in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday.

“I speak only for myself,” Justice Dattijo said, emphasising that he never held such a meeting with Kwankwaso or Yusuf during his tenure on the Supreme Court.

He added that if Kwankwaso maintains his claim, he should provide specific details, including when and where the alleged meetings took place, who was present, and which justices were involved.

According to him, sweeping claims without particulars risk unfairly damaging the integrity of judicial officers who may have had no involvement whatsoever.

Justice Dattijo cautioned politicians against indiscriminately dragging members of the judiciary into partisan disputes, warning that such narratives, whether substantiated or not, fuel public cynicism about the courts.

While acknowledging that public perception of Nigeria’s judiciary has worsened over the years, he recalled his valedictory speech in which he described public attitudes toward the courts as “witheringly scornful and monstrously critical.”

He stressed, however, that judicial accountability must be pursued through evidence and due process, not political generalisations.

“My intervention is not intended to defend or indict anyone else,” he said. “It is simply to clarify that I was not part of any such engagement.”

The former justice invoked the 1999 Constitution, noting that while freedom of expression is guaranteed, it is not without limits, particularly when statements threaten reputations or undermine public institutions.

He also framed his response within his faith, citing Qur’an Chapter 4 (An-Nisa), Verse 135, which enjoins believers to stand firmly for justice, even against themselves or those close to them.

Justice Dattijo warned that societies unravel when wrongdoing is ignored, tolerated, legitimised and eventually celebrated—before those who resist it are punished.

Quoting organisational psychologist Adam Grant, he added that integrity demands loyalty to principles rather than personalities, stressing that judicial reform must be anchored on honesty, restraint and collective responsibility.

The clarification follows recent remarks by Kwankwaso, who alleged that after the 2019 Kano governorship election was declared inconclusive, he personally took Abba Yusuf to the residences of all residences of all Supreme Court justices to seek intervention.

Speaking in a widely circulated video to supporters, Kwankwaso described the episode as an unprecedented injustice and said desperate efforts were made to salvage Yusuf’s mandate.

The 2019 Kano governorship election was declared inconclusive after the margin between the leading candidates fell below the number of cancelled votes. Following a supplementary poll, APC’s Abdullahi Ganduje was declared winner – a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2020.

In 2023, Yusuf returned to power on the NNPP platform. Although his victory was initially overturned by the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court in January 2024 reinstated him, faulting the lower courts and restoring cancelled votes.