A retiring Nigerian Supreme Court justice, Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, says some members of a Supreme Court panel were placed on a United States travel/visa ban after a ruling she describes as widely misinterpreted. She made the disclosure at a valedictory session marking her retirement and did not name the specific case, but the reporting links her remarks to a landmark 2020 judgment connected to an Imo State election.
Across outlets, the context provided centers on the January 14, 2020 Supreme Court decision from the 2019 Imo State governorship dispute. The court annulled the People’s Democratic Party candidate Emeka Ihedioha’s election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw his Certificate of Return and issue a new one to the All Progressives Congress candidate, Hope Uzodimma. The panel also referenced vote recomputation from hundreds of polling units after an officer tendered results that INEC allegedly disowned.
Outlets largely repeat the same core claim about the visa ban, but some provide only brief, partial details while others include more background on the Supreme Court’s reasoning and recount process.
