Ibraheem Al-Hassan has been replaced as the spokesperson of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) after his controversial “Biafran Boys” statement.
Al-Hassan had written the statement in March, which was littered with grammatical errors, in defence of his principal, Danladi Umar, Chairman of the CCT, who was caught on camera slapping a security guard at Banex Plaza, Abuja.
The viral video elicited lots of reactions online from Nigerians, who questioned if the judge still had the capacity to hold office.
In reaction, Al-Hassan issued a statement on behalf of Umar, explaining that some persons who he branded as “Biafran boys” stormed the place and ordered the closure of the plaza’s gate.
This led to another furore, with some Nigerians lamenting the quality of the statement and others such as Femi Falana (SAN) insinuating that the CCT Chairman is liable to face five years in prison over his use of “Biafran boys” as the term constitutes xenophobia and contravenes the Cybercrime Act 2015.
Following the heavy criticism, Al-Hassan had initially claimed that it was the CCT chairman who asked him to use “Biafran boys” in the statement.
He, however, walked back his statement, saying in another piece that it was an “unedited draft” which had not been authorised.
Abdumalik Shaibu, Chief Registrar of the CCT, confirmed that Al-Hassan has been recalled by his primary ministry, the Ministry of Information, and that a replacement has already been deployed to the tribunal.
“It is true. He was posted to us from there in the first place,” Shaibu told TheCable.
“I got the news that he has been recalled but there is no official letter yet from the ministry.
“I was told there is an official letter but we are still waiting for it. A replacement came in last week Friday, and Ibrahim came to introduce him to us.
“We are hoping an official letter will coming this week so that the new person can resume fully.”
The CCT Registrar also said he does not know the reason(s) given for Al-Hassan’s recall.
“Maybe if I see the letter which we are still expecting, the reasons might be stated,” he said.
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