Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, who represented Bauchi North in the 9th Senate, has refuted claims that he interfered with his wife’s performance as President of the Court of Appeal.
Speaking to the 9th Senate led by Ahmad Lawan during the valedictory session, Bulkachuwa said, “I look at faces in this chamber who have come to me and sought for my help when my wife was the President of the Court of Appeal.”
Senator Bulkachuwa came was criticized when he openly admitted that he used his position to solicit favours on behalf of his buddies while she was President of Nigeria’s court of appeal.
However, the former senator stated in a BBC Hausa interview that Lawan interrupted him before he could complete his sentence.
“Well, I was not even allowed to finish up, I just began by thanking her. She tolerated me, I am in politics while she was in law.
“The favours I solicited from her, it was her nature to help people. I didn’t even explain what kind of help I was referring to, every employee whether lawyer, engineer or doctor can render assistance in their work. Assistance doesn’t mean that you contravene the law or do something wrong,” he said.
The accusations that Bulkachuwa interfered with his wife’s job are false, in Bulkachuwa’s opinion.
“The way we lived, I never suggested to her how to do things, how to go about her cases or how to run her office. We don’t even discuss such things at home. He added.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has in the meantime requested that Bulkachuwa be promptly summoned for questioning and that appropriate legal action be taken against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
In a statement released on Wednesday, NBA President Yakubu Maikyau noted that the senator’s comments in the widely shared video clip were unmistakably admissions that he had attempted to pervert the course of justice or had actually interfered with the proper administration of justice. As a result, even with this admission, the senator is subject to an investigation and prosecution.
The association also said, “that this came with a huge negative impact on the integrity and the independence of the Judiciary can only be an understatement”.
